supervisor
Americannoun
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supervisors
plural
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a person who supervises workers or the work done by others; superintendent.
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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.
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(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.
noun
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a person who manages or supervises
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a foreman or forewoman
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(in some British universities) a tutor supervising the work, esp research work, of a student
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(in some US schools) an administrator running a department of teachers
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(in some US states) the elected chief official of a township or other subdivision of a county
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obsolete a spectator
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of supervisor
1425–75; late Middle English < Medieval Latin supervīsor, equivalent to supervid-, stem of supervidēre to supervise + -tor -tor, with dt > s
Explanation
A supervisor is the person in charge at your job, who monitors you as you work. Your supervisor prepared you for the world of sneaker sales, and makes sure you don't give them away free to your friends. To supervise means to oversee, so a supervisor is someone whose job it is to oversee everyone else as they work. If you're the supervisor of a big kitchen, you probably won't spend time chopping onions, but instead wander around making sure everyone has their hair back and is using the right ingredients and working quickly. Sometimes in very complex problems, a whole organization can be a supervisor, like a city department that oversees the police.
Vocabulary lists containing supervisor
Like A Boss: Words for the Person in Charge
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List 7
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 7
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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:
According to Judge Diamond’s opinion, the turmoil began when Matthew Stiegler, a district attorney’s office supervisor, assigned the Johnson case to Jaclyn Mason, an experienced lawyer who had been a prosecutor for just four months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Katie Robertson, display supervisor at the centre, said: "The moment they finally get released is going to be an emotional time for us."
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
First, speak to a supervisor at the bank where all of this happened so you can get to the bottom of how you were hacked.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
However, state laws require many of the vehicles to have a human supervisor or driver ready to take over control if necessary.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
“Matthew’s supervisor is the only person who calls me Juanita. Except Matthew, apparently. I’m Nita. You’ll need two tests prepared?”
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
As a federal court hearing approached this past June, four supervisors under Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner took a hard look at a murder-exoneration case the office had backed since 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Based on all the evidence, she persuaded her supervisors to approve a new investigation.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
County supervisors to stick with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a city-county agency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Last year the supervisors voted to divert more than $300 million in Measure A sales tax funds from the agency to a new county homelessness department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
When asked to explain why her white co-workers and supervisors would have trouble understanding her brother’s incarceration, Ruth explained that it was not just incarceration but “everything”—everything related to race.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
