supervisor

[soo-per-vahy-zer]

noun

1. a person who supervises workers or the work done by others; superintendent.

2. Education.,  an official responsible for assisting teachers in the preparation of syllabuses, in devising teaching methods, etc., in a department of instruction, especially in public schools.

3. (in some U.S. states) the chief elected administrative officer of a township, who is often also a member of the governing board of the county.

supervisor

/ ˈsuːpəˌvaɪzə /

noun

1. a person who manages or supervises

2. a foreman or forewoman

3. (in some British universities) a tutor supervising the work, esp research work, of a student

4. (in some US schools) an administrator running a department of teachers

5. (in some US states) the elected chief official of a township or other subdivision of a county

6. obsolete,  a spectator

Other Word Forms

• supervisorship noun
• presupervisor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of supervisor¹

1425–75; late Middle English < Medieval Latin supervīsor, equivalent to supervid-, stem of supervidēre to supervise + -tor -tor, with dt > s

Example Sentences

In South Korea, a partnership called “Project Concord” is planning to build a $35 billion data center that’s designed, constructed and operated by AI—with humans involved only as supervisors.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A supervisor remembers some of his workers begging to go home.

Read more on Literature

Humans will be involved, but only as supervisors, with AI acting as the decision-maker, the firms said.

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“Thank you for this exhausting dressing down of the probation department,” Preven said last Tuesday after the supervisors wrapped up rebuking officials for paltry programming inside juvenile halls.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Conservatives still decry a 2015 Yale incident, when student anger over a professor’s defense of potentially offensive Halloween costumes helped lead to his exit as a residence-hall supervisor.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• administrator 
• chief 
• chieftain 
• director 
• employer 
• executive 
• leader 
• owner 

When To Use

What does supervisor mean?

A supervisor is someone who oversees and provides direction for someone or something.More simply, a supervisor is someone who supervises. It’s most commonly used in the context of the workplace to refer to a type of manager who supervises other employees.The adjective supervisory describes things that involve supervision. A supervisor’s role can be described as supervisory.Supervisor can be used more specifically in the context of education to refer to a type of official or tutor or in the context of government to refer to a type of elected local official who serves on a board with other supervisors.Example: The key to being a good supervisor is to give your employees enough space to do their jobs, instead of constantly standing over their shoulders.