Superintendent

//ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person who is authorized to supervise, direct or administer something.
  2. 2
    a person who directs and manages an organization wordnet
  3. 3
    A police rank used in Commonwealth countries, ranking above chief inspector, and below chief superintendent. Commonwealth

    "“No, don't,” replied the superintendent; “in fact, I'd rather you made yourself conspicuous elsewhere. Go down to the landing stage and cross to New Brighton or Wallasey—doesn't matter which—and come back. No doubt you will be seen, and reported to have gone across.”"

  4. 4
    a caretaker for an apartment house; represents the owner as janitor and rent collector wordnet
  5. 5
    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. Often abbreviated "super".
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  1. 6
    The head of a Sunday school.
  2. 7
    In some Protestant churches, a clergyman having the oversight of the clergy of a district.
  3. 8
    A janitor. US
Adjective
  1. 1
    Overseeing; superintending. not-comparable

Synonyms

All synonyms
overseerchiefcontrollerforemanmanageroverseer

Example

More examples

"The superintendent lives on the ground floor."

Etymology

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

Related phrases

chief superintendentdetective chief superintendentdetective superintendentsidewalk superintendentchief inspectorchief superintendentpolice constablesunday school

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.