supervise

verb

su·​per·​vise ˈsü-pər-ˌvīz 

supervised; supervising

transitive verb

: to be in charge of : superintend, oversee

supervise a large staff

supervised the ship's daily operations

Synonyms of supervise

• oversee
• handle
• manage

Examples of supervise in a Sentence

The builder supervised the construction of the house.

She supervises a staff of 30 workers.

Recent Examples on the Web

David Smith, who supervises the district’s aedes crew, said his team has received an increasing number of service requests for day-biting mosquitoes within the neighborhood. — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026

The jobs that grow are the ones that supervise, design and audit the agents—people who can say what good output looks like catch the agent being confidently wrong and own the judgment calls that never go away. — Rahul Bhatia, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Others nominated alongside Swift in that category are executive producers Baz Halpin, Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn as well as supervising producer Rose-Ellen Galluzzo and line producer Bradley Stein. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 8 July 2026

That includes arranging seat belts into place and manipulating small fastenings; working with delicate parts like hoses, wires, carpets and trim panels and supervising technology on the floor. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 6 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin supervisus, past participle of supervidēre, from Latin super- + vidēre to see — more at wit

First Known Use

circa 1645, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supervise

• advertise
• aggrandize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize
• butterflies

Kids Definition

supervise

verb

su·​per·​vise ˈsü-pər-ˌvīz 

supervised; supervising

: superintend, oversee

Etymology

from Latin supervisus, past participle of supervidēre "to oversee," from super- "over, above" and vidēre "to see" — related to vision