supervisor

American  

[soo-per-vahy-zer] / ˈsu pərˌvaɪ zər /

noun

1. a person who supervises workers or the work done by others; superintendent.

2. Education. an official responsible for assisting teachers in the preparation of syllabuses, in devising teaching methods, etc., in a department of instruction, especially in public schools.

3. (in some U.S. states) the chief elected administrative officer of a township, who is often also a member of the governing board of the county.

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supervisor British  

/ ˈsuːpəˌvaɪzə /

noun

1. a person who manages or supervises

2. a foreman or forewoman

3. (in some British universities) a tutor supervising the work, esp research work, of a student

4. (in some US schools) an administrator running a department of teachers

5. (in some US states) the elected chief official of a township or other subdivision of a county

6. obsolete a spectator

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Usage

What does supervisor mean? A supervisor is someone who oversees and provides direction for someone or something. More simply, a supervisor is someone who supervises. It’s most commonly used in the context of the workplace to refer to a type of manager who supervises other employees. The adjective supervisory describes things that involve supervision. A supervisor’s role can be described as supervisory. Supervisor can be used more specifically in the context of education to refer to a type of official or tutor or in the context of government to refer to a type of elected local official who serves on a board with other supervisors. Example: The key to being a good supervisor is to give your employees enough space to do their jobs, instead of constantly standing over their shoulders.

Other Word Forms

• presupervisor
  noun
• supervisorship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of supervisor

1425–75; late Middle English < Medieval Latin supervīsor, equivalent to supervid-, stem of supervidēre to supervise + -tor -tor, with dt > s

Explanation

A supervisor is the person in charge at your job, who monitors you as you work. Your supervisor prepared you for the world of sneaker sales, and makes sure you don't give them away free to your friends. To supervise means to oversee, so a supervisor is someone whose job it is to oversee everyone else as they work. If you're the supervisor of a big kitchen, you probably won't spend time chopping onions, but instead wander around making sure everyone has their hair back and is using the right ingredients and working quickly. Sometimes in very complex problems, a whole organization can be a supervisor, like a city department that oversees the police.

Example Sentences

The Dali's technical supervisor, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, also faces criminal charges.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

On a recent morning, Jerry McKinney, a plant supervisor, stood surrounded by a crowd that included suppliers, lineworkers and engineers.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

"The belt is moving all the time, you're constantly picking. I go through a lot of pickers because they just aren't up to the job," says line supervisor Ken Dordoy.

From BBC • May 4, 2026

Currently he and his supervisor, Amit Sahai, are working on a “recipe” to break hard problems down into easy problems, something that they hope would help increase understanding of the security behind cryptosystems.

From Slate • May 2, 2026

“Personally, I don’t think the children are at risk based on this single incident, but my supervisor is probably not going to want to accept further responsibility.”

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Related Words

• administrator
• chief
• chieftain
• director
• employer
• executive
• leader
• owner