supervisory
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does supervisory mean? Supervisory is used to describe things that involve supervision, which is the act of overseeing, watching over, and providing direction for someone or something. Supervisory is an adjective form of the verb supervise, and it’s especially used in the phrases supervisory role and supervisory capacity, both of which refer to positions that involve supervision (or positions for which supervision is a responsibility). The word supervise often refers to supervising a project or people, parents supervising their children, or a manager or supervisor supervising their employees. Supervisory is most often used in the context of supervisors in the workplace or government agencies that conduct oversight. Example: I’ve been asked to come on in a supervisory capacity to oversee the project.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of supervisory
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.
But the German supervisory board, which operates as a trustee of the charity, overruled them and dismissed all three directors in February.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Volkswagen’s supervisory board this month approved a plan to cut 100,000 jobs and halve its model portfolio, in part due to the strain of increasing competition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Palmer has served as director of Frasers Group Financial Services since 2022, and the U.K. retailer said earlier this week that it would seek his appointment to the Hugo Boss supervisory board.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Greeting the deal, VW supervisory board member and IG Metall union leader Christiane Benner said the company was not off the hook for the hundreds of jobs not covered by the deal.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
Most of the time, the work requires minimal human interaction, of either the collegial or the supervisory sort, largely because it’s so self-defining.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
