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:
"At least the invigilator part we can certainly handle."
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
"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
Students in many parts of the UK are coming to the end of their exam season but what happens after the invigilator shouts "pens down, stop writing"?
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2022
It is encouraging schools to use social media, parent newsletters and an invigilator vacancy and recruitment map to fill gaps.
From BBC ● May 15, 2022
And the next week she rang Father at home and told him that I could take the A level and the Reverend Peters would be what is called the invigilator.
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
Sir Ian said exam boards were providing training and guidance to invigilators and exams officers on how to identify suspicious devices and behaviour in exam halls.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
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
But fewer invigilators are returning to oversee them because they are worried about Covid or have moved on to other work, unions say.
From BBC ● May 15, 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
She said she needed "a lot more" invigilators to oversee those extra rooms.
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.
