superintend

su·per·in·tend
S1U1P3E1R1I1N1T1E1N1D2
/ˌsuːpəɹɪnˈtɛnd/

verb

To oversee the work of others; to supervise.

UncommonScrabble 14

Meanings

verbsuperintend (third-person singular simple present superintends, present participle superintending, simple past and past participle superintended)

present singular third person superintends · participle present superintending · participle past superintended · past superintended

  1. To oversee the work of others; to supervise.

    Herb Abbott, the foreman, who superintended the whole operation and filled in wherever he was needed.

    1982, Alice Munro, “The Turkey Season”, in The Moons of Jupiter
    2 more examples

    Lady Marchmont had superintended her toilette, and it was the very triumph of exquisite taste; every thing about it seemed as fragile and delicate as herself.

    1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XVIII. The Fête.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 137

    The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track.[…]Their example was followed by others at a time when the master of Mohair was superintending in person the docking of some two-year-olds, and equally invisible.

    1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 58–59
  2. To administer the affairs of something or someone.
    1 more example

    A posse of Dublin Metropolitan police superintended by the Chief Commissioner in person maintained order in the vast throng for whom the York Street brass and reed band whiled away the intervening time by admirably rendering on their blackdraped instruments the matchless melody endeared to us from the cradle by Speranza's plaintive muse.

    1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 294

Synonyms & antonyms

verbwatch and direct

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ecclesiastical Latinsuperintendō
  2. Ecclesiastical Latinsuperintendō
  3. Englishsuperintend

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin superintendō.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian надзиравам, контролирам
  • надзиравам (nadziravam)to oversee the work of others
  • контролирам (kontroliram)to oversee the work of others
Czech dohlížet, dozírat
  • dohlížetto oversee the work of others
  • dozíratto oversee the work of others
  • říditto oversee the work of others
French surveiller, diriger
  • surveillerto oversee the work of others
  • dirigerto oversee the work of others
German aufsehen
  • aufsehento oversee the work of others
Italian soprintendere
  • soprintendereto oversee the work of others
Cite this entry
APA

superintend. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superintend

MLA

“superintend.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superintend. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “superintend,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superintend.

Source: superintend on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.