supervise
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to direct or oversee the performance or operation of
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to watch over so as to maintain order, etc
Usage
What does supervise mean? Supervise means to oversee, watch over, and provide direction for someone or something. You can supervise a project or process as it’s happening, but most of the time the word refers to supervising people, especially parents supervising their children or a manager or supervisor supervising their employees. The noun form of supervise is supervision. Someone being supervised is said to be under supervision. When it’s used in the context of adults watching children, the word often appears in the phrases parental supervision and adult supervision. Children or other people who can’t be left alone are said to need constant supervision. When they are left alone, they’re said to be unsupervised. The adjective form supervisory describes things that involve supervision, such as in the phrases supervisory role and supervisory capacity. Example: The key to supervising your employees effectively is giving them enough space to do their jobs, instead of constantly standing over their shoulders.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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supervisionnoun
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presuperviseverb (used with object)
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nonsupervisingadjective
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quasi-supervisedadjective
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unsupervisedadjective
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well-supervisedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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supervisesimple
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supervisessimple
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have supervisedperfect
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has supervisedperfect
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am supervisingprogressive
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are supervisingprogressive
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is supervisingprogressive
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have been supervisingperfect progressive
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has been supervisingperfect progressive
Past
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supervisedsimple
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had supervisedperfect
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was supervisingprogressive
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were supervisingprogressive
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had been supervisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of supervise
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin supervīsus “overseen,” past participle of supervidēre “to oversee,” from super- super- + vidēre “to see”; see also wit 2
Explanation
If your mother asks you to supervise your little brother and his friends, it means she'd like you to keep an eye on them. The verb supervise has origins in the Latin word supervidere, from super-, meaning “over” and videre, meaning “to see.” When you supervise something, it means you oversee the project, managing the people working on it, perhaps by figuring out what needs to be done, assigning the work, and making sure it gets done properly. You serve as the boss when you supervise; other people are the workers.
Vocabulary lists containing supervise
Power Prefix: super-
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Common Senses: Vid, Vis ("See")
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A Résumé of Active Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Students either catalog recovered artifacts, most of which are ceramics, or "broken pots," as Anderson described them, or supervise excavation trenches.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
But Mehta and Neyshabur see recursive self-improvement as the “shortest path” to accelerating science, and believe it will be possible to safely supervise it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
But she admitted during her trial to giving a false account of the events to the coroner because she was "in a panic" over having failed to supervise Andrea while she took a bath.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Her sisters Maria and Judith manage the circus and supervise show details, respectively.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Dell Duke has agreed to supervise my homeschooling.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
It isn’t clear if Bowman, who supervises banks for the Fed, violated those rules by attending the dinner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
The key element is making sure that a physician supervises your visits and is available in person when needed by you or the associate.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
In May 2024, she joined the Justice and Safety Division of the county counsel’s office, where she supervises civil litigation and advises county departments.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
He also supervises the Guardian Council, which has the power to vet electoral candidates and veto parliamentary legislation.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
Yet the very next night, Hauptmann’s manner will be frighteningly closed; he invites no questions and supervises Werner’s work in silence.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
“It will be a time for Brett to expand his skill set,” said Brian Adams, another BLS alumnus who once supervised him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
He planned to pick up the boy from the supervised child-care center at 11:30 a.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
The company currently offers some unsupervised ride-hailing services in Texas’ Austin, Houston and Dallas, along with supervised trips in San Francisco.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
The alleged irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings made by devotees were first made by Mahipal Singh, who previously supervised the trust's accounts team and is now being called the "whistleblower".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
We were watched around the clock, our visits supervised, even food vendors had their baskets checked at the gate.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
She continued that work for three summers before supervising the excavation of a late Roman site this year.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
The film’s supervising technical director was remarkably calm upon learning that the company’s most valuable assets had disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
Estrada is the most senior district official supervising instruction.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Without ever saying it directly, Fanny has taken over Mary’s job of supervising my work.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
