supervisor

English Online Dictionary. What means supervisor‎? What does supervisor mean?

English

Alternative forms

• supervisour (obsolete)

Etymology

Attested since the 15th century C.E.; from Middle English supervisor, supervisour, supervysor, supervysour, from Latin supervīsor, from supervideō, in turn from super + videō. By surface analysis, supervise +‎ -or.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsuːpəˌvaɪzə(ɹ)/, enPR: so͞op′ərvīz'ər
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsupɚˌvaɪzɚ/

Noun

supervisor (plural supervisors)

1. (management) A person with the official task of overseeing the work of a person or group, or of other operations and activities.
2. A person who monitors someone to make sure they comply with rules or other requirements set for them.
3. (US) In certain states, an elected member of the governing body for a county which is called the board of supervisors.
4. (computing) A process responsible for managing other processes.

Derived terms

• script supervisor

Related terms

• supervise
• supervisee
• supervision
• supervisory

Translations

See also

• manager
• on-call supervisor
• superintendent

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “supervisor”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• proviruses

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˌsu.pər.biˈzo]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˌsu.pər.viˈzo]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˌsu.peɾ.viˈzoɾ]

Noun

supervisor m (plural supervisors, feminine supervisora)

1. supervisor

Related terms

• supervisar
• supervisió

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], 2007 April
• “supervisor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “supervisor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Portuguese

Etymology

From super- +‎ visor.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: su‧per‧vi‧sor

Noun

supervisor m (plural supervisores, feminine supervisora, feminine plural supervisoras)

1. (management) supervisor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /supeɾbiˈsoɾ/ [su.peɾ.β̞iˈsoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: su‧per‧vi‧sor

Noun

supervisor m (plural supervisores, feminine supervisora, feminine plural supervisoras)

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

Related terms

Further reading

• “supervisor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10