supervise
/ˈsu.pɚˌvaɪz/verb
supervise is spelled S-U-P-E-R-V-I-S-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, supervise means “To oversee or direct (a task or organization)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in supervise?
| Letters | 9: S-U-P-E-R-V-I-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 19,077th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is supervise?
Supervise appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th 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 supervise?
- UK /ˈsuː.pə.vaɪz/
- US /ˈsu.pɚˌvaɪz/
- Australia /ˈsʉː.pə.vɑez/
Supervise has 3 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-supervise.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of supervise
- supervises present, singular, he/she/it
- supervising participle, present
- supervised participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does supervise mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To oversee or direct (a task or organization).
Without someone to supervise them, the group will lack direction.
- 2
To oversee a task, organization, etc.; to provide supervision; to act as a supervisor.
- 3
obsoleteTo look over so as to read; to peruse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Supervise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to oversee or direct:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | superviser, encadrer |
| German | beaufsichtigen |
| Portuguese | supervisar, supervisionar |
| Spanish | supervisar |
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 supervise come from?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin supervisus, from supervidere, from Latin super + videre. Doublet of survey.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).