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

The team estimates that a person can typically supervise only three to five active AI agent sessions at a time. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026

Valenti and Lovley, longtime developers who grew up and live in central Connecticut, aren’t interested in supervising construction or managing properties at the far ends of the state. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026

Godzilla Minus Zero is a direct follow-up to Godzilla Minus One (2023), which Yamazaki famously wrote, directed and VFX-supervised. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 1 Nov. 2026

An independent committee found that the Housing Bureau’s independent checking unit failed in its duties supervising the maintenance work. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 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