superintendent
Americannoun
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a person who oversees or directs some work, enterprise, establishment, organization, district, etc.; supervisor.
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a person who is in charge of maintenance and repairs of an apartment house; custodian.
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a high-ranking police officer, especially a chief of police or an officer ranking next above an inspector.
adjective
noun
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a person who directs and manages an organization, office, etc
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(in Britain) a senior police officer higher in rank than an inspector but lower than a chief superintendent
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(in the US) the head of a police department
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a caretaker, esp of a block of apartments
adjective
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.
Vocabulary lists containing superintendent
Like A Boss: Words for the Person in Charge
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Power Prefix: super-
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Nothing But the Truth
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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.
I already had a relationship with Columbia River as a yoga teacher, so I felt comfortable reaching out to the superintendent to propose it.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
Miller faced bankruptcy in 1933, so his plant superintendent, Fred Offenhauser, bought the assets and opened the Offenhauser Engine Co.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
An Indian national, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, who worked for both companies as technical superintendent for the ship, the M/V Dali, is also named in the indictment unsealed on Tuesday.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
When police moved in, Wai threw a fake warrant card that suggested he was a superintendent in the City of London Police out of the window.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
When the superintendent and the assistant had turned on us, they’d turned their backs on her.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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.
