superintendent

American  

[soo-per-in-ten-duhnt, soo-prin-] / ˌsu pər ɪnˈtɛn dənt, ˌsu prɪn- /

noun

superintendents plural

1. a person who oversees or directs some work, enterprise, establishment, organization, district, etc.; supervisor.

2. a person who is in charge of maintenance and repairs of an apartment house; custodian.

3. a high-ranking police officer, especially a chief of police or an officer ranking next above an inspector.

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adjective

1. superintending.

superintendent British  

/ ˌsuːpərɪnˈtɛndənt, ˌsuːprɪn- /

noun

1. a person who directs and manages an organization, office, etc

2. (in Britain) a senior police officer higher in rank than an inspector but lower than a chief superintendent

3. (in the US) the head of a police department

4. a caretaker, esp of a block of apartments

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adjective

1. of or relating to supervision; superintending

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• superintendents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of superintendent

1545–55; < Medieval Latin superintendent- (stem of superintendēns ), present participle of superintendere to superintend; see -ent

Explanation

A superintendent is the overseer of an organization. The term superintendent is most often used to refer to someone who oversees a school district and — most importantly — decides when to declare a snow day. A superintendent is also the caretaker for a building, like an apartment complex. The superintendent is the person to call with maintenance issues, such as a broken lock or clogged toilet. Used in this sense, the word is often shortened to "super." A superintendent was originally a church official who oversaw several churches in a district. The word comes from the Latin superintendere, which means to oversee.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

superintendent superintendents

One provision would’ve required private schools accepting public money to give a common standardized test and report results to the county superintendent, allowing more insight into the schools’ educational quality.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

The superintendent himself served as the master of ceremonies, with performers weaving around him, cameos by celebrities, and slide projections and film sequences appearing on cue to supplement his applause and laugh lines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Local police superintendent ANM Sajedur Rahman said authorities lacked the resources to dismantle trafficking networks.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

The next day, the school superintendent issued a statement supporting the referee’s decision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Paul didn’t want problems with the authorities, so early in the planning process she met with the District of Columbia’s police superintendent, Richard Sylvester, to obtain a parade permit.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

School district management groups, such as the one representing county superintendents, were more supportive of the changes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

The demand for injections can put a strain on resources, which are allocated in government hospitals through quota systems overseen by their superintendents.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026

He said such posts would be referred to the agency’s investigations division and asked superintendents to report inappropriate content they saw, according to a copy of the email in the lawsuit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026

The school boards conference brings together more than 3,500 school board members, superintendents and other education leaders from across the state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

Foremen and superintendents, along with a few laborers who decided to stay on the job and the recruited blacks, were doing what they could to keep the disassembly line running.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Related Words

• administrator
• chief
• controller
• curator
• custodian
• director
• inspector
• manager
• supervisor