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

Identity management—assigning each agent its own ID—enables tracking, and workspaces will need to evolve to allow humans to supervise dozens of agents at once. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 2 May 2026

One family has already filed a lawsuit against Berrios-Otero and BrightPath, alleging that the daycare failed to properly supervise the children and its employees. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2026

Besides the driver, an amiable man who was happy to explain how the shredder worked, only a few nervous schoolchildren stood around, supervised by a woman with a badge that identified her as an envoy of the library. —Mary Norris, New Yorker, 1 May 2026

Late in her career, Dale even wound up supervising hospice workers. —Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 1 May 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
• agonize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize

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