Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight.

The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe).

The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard English of all English linguistic varieties, including North American English.

Supervision is the act or function of overseeing something or somebody. It is the process that involves guiding, instructing and correcting someone.

A person who performs supervision is a "supervisor", but does not always have the formal title of supervisor. A person who is getting supervision is the "supervisee".

Generally, supervision contains elements of providing knowledge, helping to organize tasks, enhance motivation, and monitoring activity and results; the amount of each element is varying in different contexts.

In academia, supervision is the aiding and guiding of a university student in their research project; offering both moral support and scientific insight and guidance. The supervisor is often a senior scientist or scholar, and in some countries called doctoral advisor.

In business, supervision is overseeing the work of staff. The person performing supervision could lack a formal title or carry the title supervisor or manager, where the latter has wider authority.