supervision
Americannoun
Usage
What does supervision mean? Supervision is the act of overseeing or watching over someone or something. Supervision is the noun form of the verb supervise, meaning to oversee or watch over. You can supervise a project, but most of the time supervision means supervising people, especially parents supervising their children or a manager or supervisor supervising their employees. Someone or something 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. Example: All children in this building must be under adult supervision.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of supervision
1615–25; < Medieval Latin supervīsiōn- (stem of supervīsiō ) oversight, equivalent to super- super- + vīsiōn- vision
Explanation
When you keep an eye on someone, that's supervision. Small children require supervision when they're swimming, and a middle school math class needs supervision while they're taking a quiz. To watch over and keep people (or animals) safe, or to watch and manage them while they work, is to supervise them. The act of doing this is supervision. If your boss lets you work without supervision, that means that she doesn't feel the need to observe you while you get your job done. Supervision and supervise stem from the Latin roots super, "over," and videre, "to see."
Vocabulary lists containing supervision
myPerspectives 7.1
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Employment, List 1
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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:
"Sonam Wangchuk has been moved to a government hospital for much-needed medical intervention and is currently under medical supervision," said Sachin Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
“The President and the Attorney General, subject to the president’s supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch.”
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
Parallel to Byrd’s stirring public advocacy is a crucial personal thread: her nurturing of Shelly, whose progressing dementia requires regular supervision.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Tesla’s FSD controls steering, acceleration and braking, but requires close human supervision and intervention if it disengages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Others, perhaps more idealistic, maintain that police supervision on an increased scale is driving the houses out of existence.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Xi was quoted as saying China would crack down on corrupt behaviour related to disorderly capital expansion and platform monopolies, and would strengthen supervisions.
From Reuters ● Apr. 30, 2022
His scheme was to devise his own corrective biography, ostensibly with Miller as authorized author, while behind the scenes Roth would, in effect, ghostwrite it with proddings and minute supervisions of method and means.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2021
Garriott said Taylor-Silva’s case motivates her to put extra effort into the difficult supervisions.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2017
That usually leaves the children with no federal supervisions once they are released to sponsors — where they are often prime recruiting targets.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 21, 2017
After finishing her household supervisions Elfride became restless, and several times left the room, ascended the staircase, and knocked at her father's chamber-door.
From A Pair of Blue Eyes by Hardy, Thomas
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.
