Meaning & use
superintendent
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person in charge of running a place, organization or department, such as a school system.
Grammar: Countable; often used with a title: Superintendent Lee.
Patterns
- the superintendent of something
The superintendent announced a new schedule for the district.
She became superintendent of the national park.
The superintendent met with parents on Monday.
nouncountableBritish
In Britain, a police officer ranking above a chief inspector.
Grammar: Used with a title for police: Detective Superintendent.
Patterns
- a detective superintendent
The superintendent briefed reporters on the case.
A detective superintendent led the investigation.
The superintendent thanked the officers for their work.
nouncountableAmericaninformal
In the US, a person who looks after an apartment building, handling repairs.
Grammar: Informally called a super.
Patterns
- call the superintendent
Call the superintendent about the leaking sink.
The building superintendent lives in the basement flat.
Our superintendent fixed the heater the same day.
Word forms
| plural | superintendents |
|---|
Common combinations
- school superintendent
- The school superintendent visited every campus.
- police superintendent
- The police superintendent addressed the press.
- building superintendent
- The building superintendent fixed the lift.
- appoint a superintendent
- The board will appoint a new superintendent.
- chief superintendent
- The chief superintendent oversaw the whole division.
Synonyms and how they differ
- supervisor
- Supervisor is a general term for someone watching over work, with less formal authority.
- manager
- Manager is broader and used in most businesses, while superintendent is tied to specific roles.
- caretaker
- Caretaker is the British word for someone who maintains a building, similar to the American sense.
- director
- Director suggests higher-level leadership of an organization, whereas superintendent often leads a district or site.
Opposites
Word family
- superintend verb
- to supervise
- superintendence noun
- supervision
- super noun
- informal short form for a building superintendent
- intendent noun
- an administrator, now rare
Commonly confused: superintendent or supervisor?
superintendent vs supervisor
A supervisor oversees workers day to day, while a superintendent often runs a whole district or site.
Practice
In the United States, the head of a school district is usually called the ____.
Choose one answer.
A school district leader is the superintendent. Caretaker would mean a building maintenance worker.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “superintendent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.