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

OIT is a treatment that involves patients consuming very small, carefully measured amounts of the food they are allergic to, under medical supervision.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

It’s basic prudential supervision, and it’s well within the existing tool kit.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

Under Mexican law, foreign agents may exchange information and liaise with their local counterparts with the supervision of the central government but can’t carry out functions reserved to Mexican law-enforcement authorities.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Warsh’s testimony also suggested that the Fed would operate with a more limited mandate under his supervision.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

They were downright blackened, and I wondered how long he’d been out here “in the wild” without parental supervision.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Related Words

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