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

There stood an imposing granite structure, designed under French’s supervision by shingle-style modernist Bruce Price, that harmonized perfectly with the park wall and cobblestoned sidewalk.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Instead McVee believes removing phones from nursery workers and better supervision and staffing levels are more effective.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

The companies have agreed to build AI agents—programs that complete tasks without the supervision of a user—for use by financial institutions.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

Whatever the time horizon, the industry now faces the problem of zoning out, with systems that require supervision to ensure maximum safety.

From Barron's • May 3, 2026

For instance, my best friend, Izzy, wasn't allowed to spend the night at my place, because her mom felt there wasn't enough adult supervision in the Saedi home.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Related Words

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