supervise
Americanverb (used with object)
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supervises,
present (3rd person singular)
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supervised,
past participle, past
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supervising
present participle
verb
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to direct or oversee the performance or operation of
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to watch over so as to maintain order, etc
Usage
What does supervise mean? Supervise means to oversee, watch over, and provide direction for someone or something. You can supervise a project or process as it’s happening, but most of the time the word refers to supervising people, especially parents supervising their children or a manager or supervisor supervising their employees. The noun form of supervise is supervision. Someone being supervised is said to be under supervision. When it’s used in the context of adults watching children, the word often appears in the phrases parental supervision and adult supervision. Children or other people who can’t be left alone are said to need constant supervision. When they are left alone, they’re said to be unsupervised. The adjective form supervisory describes things that involve supervision, such as in the phrases supervisory role and supervisory capacity. Example: The key to supervising your employees effectively is giving them enough space to do their jobs, instead of constantly standing over their shoulders.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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supervisionnoun
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presuperviseverb (used with object)
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nonsupervisingadjective
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quasi-supervisedadjective
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unsupervisedadjective
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well-supervisedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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supervisesimple
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supervisessimple
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have supervisedperfect
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has supervisedperfect
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am supervisingprogressive
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are supervisingprogressive
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is supervisingprogressive
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have been supervisingperfect progressive
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has been supervisingperfect progressive
Past
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supervisedsimple
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had supervisedperfect
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was supervisingprogressive
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were supervisingprogressive
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had been supervisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of supervise
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin supervīsus “overseen,” past participle of supervidēre “to oversee,” from super- super- + vidēre “to see”; see also wit 2
Explanation
If your mother asks you to supervise your little brother and his friends, it means she'd like you to keep an eye on them. The verb supervise has origins in the Latin word supervidere, from super-, meaning “over” and videre, meaning “to see.” When you supervise something, it means you oversee the project, managing the people working on it, perhaps by figuring out what needs to be done, assigning the work, and making sure it gets done properly. You serve as the boss when you supervise; other people are the workers.
Vocabulary lists containing supervise
Power Prefix: super-
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Common Senses: Vid, Vis ("See")
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A Résumé of Active Words
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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.
See Examples For:
Standards, such as the number of children a teacher can supervise, would soon be under local control, leading to variations across the country, which Head Start advocates worry could diminish the quality of the program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Managing the risk is possible, Lahav said, but the more capable these systems get, the harder they are to supervise.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Students either catalog recovered artifacts, most of which are ceramics, or "broken pots," as Anderson described them, or supervise excavation trenches.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
But she admitted during her trial to giving a false account of the events to the coroner because she was "in a panic" over having failed to supervise Andrea while she took a bath.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
I had to wash the floor in the hall in preparation while Mum Olga came by frequently to supervise.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
His company, Film Leader Co., supervises film restorations and runs technical operations for a smattering of cinema houses across the country.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The key element is making sure that a physician supervises your visits and is available in person when needed by you or the associate.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
He also supervises the Guardian Council, which has the power to vet electoral candidates and veto parliamentary legislation.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
Panama’s Port Authority, which supervises the terminals, said on Friday that it has implemented a transition plan to ensure the continuity of operations at the two ports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Vincent is a jack of all trades: he supervises shipments, keeps the account books, runs errands, and does whatever other odd jobs need doing.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
To investigate, the team tested whether combining a low-calorie diet with supervised exercise could achieve remission after 24 weeks, compared with standard medical care.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
Confirming student competence in the AI era requires redesigned assessments, supervised demonstrations, oral exams and defended portfolios.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“The law is written to prevent these types of insiders who are not truly independent from going to I.E. committees,” said Rahmani, who supervised investigations for the Ethics Commission from 2012 to 2014.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Tesla currently offers limited autonomous ride-hailing trips using Model Y SUVs in six U.S. cities, including Austin, as well as rides supervised by safety drivers in San Francisco.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Every step in the decade-long process of designing and building the city predestined to carry his name was supervised by Washington.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
It’s that a woman who has paid to delegate a household task may find herself unexpectedly responsible for supervising its completion.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
He found an ally, a forceful supervising nurse, Aisha Ragab, who had run from the war herself, back in 2018.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Her experience includes supervising Eastlake Juvenile Court, where she ran a branch with 15 lawyers and represented clients in the collaborative drug court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
He started his career at SpiceJet, said Captain Gurucharan Arora, former director of flight operations at the low-cost Indian carrier, who remembers supervising him on a simulator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Usually, Lisa-Marie Anne gets roped into supervising the kids, but that was before a legitimate childcare company existed in town.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
