supervisor
/ˈsuːpəˌvaɪzə(ɹ)/
"supervisor" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“supervisor” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,749 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #7,749
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person with the official task of overseeing the work of a person or group, or of other operations and activities.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | supervisor |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsuːpəˌvaɪzə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #7,749 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “supervisor” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for supervisor is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsuːpəˌvaɪzə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,749 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for supervisor, with forms such as "spuervisor", "ssupervisor", and "sueprvisor". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "supervisory", "superior", "supervise", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is supervisor, spelled S-U-P-E-R-V-I-S-O-R.
Definition
- 1A person with the official task of overseeing the work of a person or group, or of other operations and activities.
- 2A person who monitors someone to make sure they comply with rules or other requirements set for them.
- 3In certain states, an elected member of the governing body for a county which is called the board of supervisors.
- 4A process responsible for managing other processes.
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.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: spuervisor,ssupervisor,sueprvisor,superivsor,superrvisor,superviosr,supervisorr,supervisro,supervissor,supervsior,supervvisor,supevrisor,suppervisor,suprevisor,uspervisor
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of supervisor - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "supervisor"?
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Using “supervisor”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-P-E-R-V-I-S-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsuːpəˌvaɪzə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “supervisory” - see the side-by-side comparison. supervisor vs supervisory
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.