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PlainSpell

superintendent

/ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/noun, adjective

superintendent is spelled S-U-P-E-R-I-N-T-E-N-D-E-N-T: 14 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, superintendent means “A person who is authorized to supervise, direct or administer something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of superintendent is superintendents.

How many letters and syllables are in superintendent?

Letters14: S-U-P-E-R-I-N-T-E-N-D-E-N-T
Syllables5 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing9.3 times per million words; the 7,445th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is superintendent?

Superintendent appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce superintendent?

  • US /ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/
  • US /ˌsuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/

Superintendent has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-superintendent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with superintendent

Also written: super.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with superintendent?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as superintendent from its last stressed vowel (/ɛndənt/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of superintendent

  • superintendents plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does superintendent mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A person who is authorized to supervise, direct or administer something.

  2. 2

    CommonwealthA police officer rank, positioned above chief inspector, and below chief superintendent.

  3. 3

    The manager of a building, usually a communal residence, who is responsible for keeping the facilities functional and often collecting rent or similar payments, either as also the building's landlord or on behalf of same.

  4. 4

    The head of a Sunday school.

  5. 5

    In some Protestant churches, a clergyman having the oversight of the clergy of a district.

  6. 6

    USA janitor.

  7. 7

    USAn administrator of a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools.

adjective

  1. 1

    Overseeing; superintending.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate superintendent?

Wiktionary records 4 abbreviations of superintendent: SP, supe, super, supt..

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Superintendent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsurintendant (a person who is authorized to supervise, direct…), superintendant (police officer ranking above inspector), propriétaire (manager of a building)
GermanLeiter (a person who is authorized to supervise, direct…)
Portuguesesuperintendente (a person who is authorized to supervise, direct…), síndico, síndica (manager of a building)
Spanishsuperintendente, director, supervisor (a person who is authorized to supervise, direct…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does superintendent come from?

From Ecclesiastical Latin superintendens, a calque of Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos); thence being distantly related to English bishop.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after superintendent