Alternative forms

• supervisour (obsolete)

Etymology

Attested since the 15th century C.E.; from Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#SUPERVISORCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#SUPERVISOR supervisor, supervisour, supervysor, supervysour, from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#SUPERVISOR supervīsor, from supervideō, in turn from super + videō. By surface analysis, supervise +‎ -orCategory:English terms suffixed with -or (agent noun)#SUPERVISOR.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsuːpəˌvaɪzə(ɹ)/Category:English 4-syllable words#SUPERVISORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SUPERVISOR, enPR: so͞op′ərvīz'ər

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#SUPERVISOR
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsupɚˌvaɪzɚ/Category:English 4-syllable words#SUPERVISORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SUPERVISOR

Noun

supervisor (plural supervisors)Category:English lemmas#SUPERVISORCategory:English nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:English countable nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#SUPERVISORCategory:Pages with entries#SUPERVISORCategory:Pages with 4 entries#SUPERVISOR

1. (managementCategory:en:Management#SUPERVISOR) A person with the official task of overseeing the work of a person or group, or of other operations and activities.

   Near-synonyms: superintendent, manager, boss, executive, overseer

   • 1985, Drexel Library Quarterly, volume 21, page 104:

     Thus, today, even if the objective does seem "goalish," the supervisor assumes the problem inherent in trying to "accomplish" that goal will become clear to the librarian as the action plan evolves […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUPERVISOR

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
   • 2001, Wendy Dobson, Gary Hufbauer, World Capital Markets‎, →ISBN, page 103:

     The 1999 merger between Citibank (banking) and Travelers (insurance) created the model for megafinance and confirmed new challenges for supervisors.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUPERVISOR

   • 2012, Kathryn M. Johnson, The Insider's Guide to Supervising Government Employees‎:

     I had learned a lot about supervising by observing other supervisors—the good things and the not-so-good things they did.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUPERVISOR

2. A person who monitors someone to make sure they comply with rules or other requirements set for them.
   • 2013, Thomas Pynchon, Bleeding Edge, Vintage, published 2014, page 24:

     Kashruth fraud in Brooklyn. Seems a goon squad of fake mashgichim or kosher supervisors have been making their way around the neighborhoods pulling surprise ‘inspections’ on different shops and restaurants, selling them fancy-looking certificates to put in the window […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUPERVISOR

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
3. (USCategory:American English#SUPERVISOR) In certain states, an elected member of the governing body for a county which is called the board of supervisors.
4. (computingCategory:en:Computing#SUPERVISOR) A process responsible for managing other processes.
   • 1965, P. A. Crisman, The compatible time-sharing system: a programmer's guide, page 14:

     The clock burst which enables the supervisor to housekeep the console input and output and to change program status is currently set to 200 ms.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUPERVISOR

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “supervisor”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• proviruses

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˌsu.pər.biˈzo]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#SUPERVISOR
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˌsu.pər.viˈzo]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#SUPERVISOR
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˌsu.peɾ.viˈzoɾ]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#SUPERVISOR

Noun

supervisor m (plural supervisors, feminine supervisora, feminine plural supervisores)Category:Catalan lemmas#SUPERVISORCategory:Catalan nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Catalan countable nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Catalan entries with incorrect language header#SUPERVISORCategory:Catalan masculine nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Pages with entries#SUPERVISORCategory:Pages with 4 entries#SUPERVISOR

1. supervisor

Further reading

• “supervisor”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “supervisor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “supervisor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Etymology

From super- +‎ visorCategory:Portuguese terms prefixed with super-#VISOR.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: su‧per‧vi‧sor

Noun

supervisor m (plural supervisores, feminine supervisora, feminine plural supervisoras)Category:Portuguese lemmas#SUPERVISORCategory:Portuguese nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#SUPERVISORCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Pages with entries#SUPERVISORCategory:Pages with 4 entries#SUPERVISOR

1. (managementCategory:pt:Management#SUPERVISOR) supervisor

Further reading

• “supervisor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “supervisor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /supeɾbiˈsoɾ/ [su.peɾ.β̞iˈsoɾ]Category:Spanish 4-syllable words#SUPERVISORCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#SUPERVISOR
• Rhymes: -oɾCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ#SUPERVISORCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ/4 syllables#SUPERVISOR
• Syllabification: su‧per‧vi‧sor

Noun

supervisor m (plural supervisores, feminine supervisora, feminine plural supervisoras)Category:Spanish lemmas#SUPERVISORCategory:Spanish nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Spanish countable nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#SUPERVISORCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#SUPERVISORCategory:Pages with entries#SUPERVISORCategory:Pages with 4 entries#SUPERVISOR

1. supervisor
2. handler (e.g., a secret agent's handler)

Further reading

• “supervisor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025