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

Residents are also enc Pet owners should keep pets on a leash and supervise them while outdoors. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 4 Aug. 2026

What used to be just a one-button trigger to call up an app has evolved into a multi-button, multi-input device for supervising and orchestrating multiple AI tools and agents at once. — Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 3 Aug. 2026

The reactor features a passive emergency cooling system that can kick in during an emergency, even if there is no power supply or human to supervise the effort. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 3 Aug. 2026

Corrupt naval officers turned ports they were supposed to be supervising into bribe-laden smuggling hubs, authorities say. — Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 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