invigilator
Americannoun
-
invigilators
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Explanation
When you take a big exam like the SAT or the ACT, an invigilator supervises, making sure everyone keeps their eyes on their own papers and letting you know when your allotted time is up. Another word for an invigilator is a proctor, though it's mostly used in British English. Aspiring law school students who take the LSAT usually have a professional invigilator whose job it is to monitor the testing room and keep an eye on the clock. When you take a math test, your teacher likely plays the role of invigilator, gathering any stray smartphones and patrolling the rows of desks if she hears any whispering. The Latin root invigilare means "watch over."
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:
"The role of an invigilator is to be there to try to prevent any problems and not to be causing them."
From BBC ● May 28, 2024
The teenager's team manager had to train to be an invigilator in order for Sam to be able to sit his exam abroad and still compete.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2023
"I just couldn't wait for the invigilator to end the exam so I could be on my way to the airport," says Harrison McDonald.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2022
Normally, one invigilator must be present in written exams for every 30 students, but this requirement has been relaxed to one-for-40 because of the shortages.
From BBC ● May 15, 2022
And the Reverend Peters was the invigilator and he sat at a desk while I did the exam and he read a book called The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and ate a sandwich.
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
As more students sit in-person A-levels and GCSEs for the first time since exams were cancelled due to the pandemic, there are concerns about a shortage of invigilators.
From BBC ● May 16, 2022
Fewer invigilators are returning to oversee exams due to Covid fears and because they have other jobs.
From BBC ● May 16, 2022
And some schools had been late to recruit invigilators because they had not been convinced that exams would go ahead this year following the cancellation of summer exams in 2020 and 2021.
From BBC ● May 15, 2022
Head teachers are warning of disruption in this summer's school exams amid a shortage of invigilators, fuelled by fears of catching Covid.
From BBC ● May 15, 2022
Among those invigilators is Helen Albers, who is also the school's medical officer and is used to spotting signs of anxiety.
From BBC ● May 15, 2022
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.
