supervise
Americanverb (used with object)
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supervises,
present (3rd person singular)
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supervised,
past participle, past
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supervising
present participle
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:
Standards, such as the number of children a teacher can supervise, would soon be under local control, leading to variations across the country, which Head Start advocates worry could diminish the quality of the program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Managing the risk is possible, Lahav said, but the more capable these systems get, the harder they are to supervise.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
A number of petitions have been filed in the state high court and the Supreme Court asking for a police complaint to be registered and judges to supervise the investigation.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
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
He managed to get some breakfast and sleep, but was back at the scene of that fire to supervise the mopping up of embers in the early afternoon.
From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy
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
Federal law prohibits Fed officials from owning stock in banks the central bank supervises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 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
During a supervised visit to a Ukrainian detention centre in February, AFP collected similar testimonies from foreign prisoners of war who had fought for Russia.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Tesla offers ride-sharing services supervised by human safety drivers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
They had piloted the service with some of those users after securing permits to offer supervised robotaxi rides from London’s transport authority last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Perez Hilton has been granted supervised visits with his children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Grace Wexler had supervised the decorations: copper pots hung from the ceiling; the pews were padded with flowered cushions and fitted with hymnbook pockets and drop-leaf trays.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
A Shinjuku official supervising holiday rentals told AFP that the district was "planning to revise the current ordinance... to ban private lodging" in residential zones and areas near schools.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
The number is likely much higher, said Lucero Ortiz, a clinical supervising attorney at the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Comments on the social media pages of several news outlets wanted to know who had been supervising the children overnight, while some called for resignations.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
She continued that work for three summers before supervising the excavation of a late Roman site this year.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
In the early nineteenth century Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, while supervising the British occupation of Java sent two gamelan sets back to Britain, housed today in the British Museum.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
