supervisor

noun

su·​per·​vi·​sor ˈsü-pər-ˌvī-zər 

: one that supervises

especially : an administrative officer in charge of a business, government, or school unit or operation

supervisory

ˌsü-pər-ˈvī-zə-rē 

-ˈvīz-rē

adjective

Synonyms

• administrant
• administrator
• archon
• director
• exec
• executive
• manager
• superintendent

Examples of supervisor in a Sentence

The supervisor fired him after he showed up at work drunk.

If you have a problem, go to your supervisor.

Recent Examples on the Web

They were accompanied by 300 Ukrainian supervisors, French media reported. —Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

The Brookings Institute finds the tasks involved in entry-level knowledge jobs are much easier to automate than the ones done by supervisors. —Jeanne Meister, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

In one of them, he’s accused of punishing the supervisors who tried to protect the officer Pearson punished for turning down his advances. —Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2025

Barger mentioned that the supervisors are going to need much more office space after voters in November approved an eventual expansion of the board from five members to nine. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Medieval Latin, from supervidēre

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

supervisor

noun

su·​per·​vi·​sor ˈsü-pər-ˌvī-zər 

: a person who supervises

especially : an officer in charge of a unit or an operation of a business, government, or school

supervisory

ˌsü-pər-ˈvīz-(ə-)rē 

adjective

Legal Definition

supervisor

noun

su·​per·​vi·​sor ˈsü-pər-ˌvī-zər 

: one that directs or oversees a person, group, department, organization, or operation

specifically : the popularly elected chief administrative official of a township or other subdivision in some states of the U.S.

supervisorial

ˌsü-pər-ˌvī-ˈzōr-ē-əl

adjective

supervisory

ˌsü-pər-ˈvī-zə-rē 

adjective