supervision

American  

[soo-per-vizh-uhn] / ˌsu pərˈvɪʒ ən /

noun

1. the act or function of supervising; superintendence.

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Usage

What does supervision mean? Supervision is the act of overseeing or watching over someone or something. Supervision is the noun form of the verb supervise, meaning to oversee or watch over. You can supervise a project, but most of the time supervision means supervising people, especially parents supervising their children or a manager or supervisor supervising their employees. Someone or something 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. Example: All children in this building must be under adult supervision.

Other Word Forms

• nonsupervision noun
• presupervision noun
• prosupervision adjective

Etymology

Origin of supervision

1615–25; < Medieval Latin supervīsiōn- (stem of supervīsiō ) oversight, equivalent to super- super- + vīsiōn- vision

Explanation

When you keep an eye on someone, that's supervision. Small children require supervision when they're swimming, and a middle school math class needs supervision while they're taking a quiz. To watch over and keep people (or animals) safe, or to watch and manage them while they work, is to supervise them. The act of doing this is supervision. If your boss lets you work without supervision, that means that she doesn't feel the need to observe you while you get your job done. Supervision and supervise stem from the Latin roots super, "over," and videre, "to see."

Example Sentences

The district has provided child supervision and free community-based options for parents and guardians who are in need of care for their student.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

Rather than focusing on a single rock under continuous supervision, the robot could navigate to several locations and analyze each one.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026

As a new joint rule-making by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Comptroller of the Currency explains, “supervising for reputation risk as a standalone risk adds substantial subjectivity to bank supervision and can be abused.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

He was initially jailed for six years, but following a Crown appeal this was increased to eight years with an extra three years of supervision.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

“Passengers ages twelve and over may travel with no adult supervision as long as they have a valid boarding pass.”

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

Related Words

• administration
• care
• control
• guidance
• instruction
• oversight
• surveillance