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:
Ramos said one current union battle is to make self-serve checkout lines manageable for the workers who must supervise them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 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 Mehta and Neyshabur see recursive self-improvement as the “shortest path” to accelerating science, and believe it will be possible to safely supervise it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
On the next birth, she used the bulk of her fee to hire a second midwife, to supervise her.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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
“I thought it would affect us better than it has,” said Tyler Dunworth, who supervises a maintenance crew at a university in upstate New York, of the immigration crackdown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
He also supervises the Guardian Council, which has the power to vet electoral candidates and veto parliamentary legislation.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
The thirteen people he supervises, the constant fund-raising, the media appearances.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
"Alzheimer's disease cannot be understood one layer at a time," said Jian Ma, the Ray and Stephanie Lane Professor of Computational Biology who led and supervised the study.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
In California’s San Francisco Bay Area, it provides trips supervised by a human safety rider.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
They had piloted the service with some of those users after securing permits to offer supervised robotaxi rides from London’s transport authority last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
A group of children all rode their bikes in the cul-de-sac before most of them went inside apart from Gracie and one other child, supervised by Emma.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
“It’s a supervised visit. They have to wait until Heidi gets here.”
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
A two-time Oscar-winning supervising sound editor, Baker Landers is vice president of California Post Alliance, the group sponsoring the bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Meta also uses various signals to determine whether the person supervising a teen account—and thereby able to turn off key restrictions, such as the time limits—is actually the teen’s parent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Parents supervising a teen account would get daily notifications of time spent, prompts to review settings and the power to adjust school hours.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The fire service is urging residents to use fireworks responsibly, including supervising sparklers carefully, and reminding people that fireworks must not be sold to under-18s or set off in public places.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
I’m standing by Rosie, supervising as she accepts donations of candy, gum, and even lemonade from the crowd.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
