super

USSOO-pur/ˈsu.pɚ/SaySOO-puh/ˈs(j)uːpə(ɹ)//ˈsʉː.pə(ɹ)/

Noun pluralsupers

14 meanings of super

1
extremelyadverbcolloquial
Very, extremely, or completely; used informally to intensify an adjective or adverb, and sometimes a verb, as in I super appreciate it.
This new phone is super thin and light.
The instructions were super clear and easy to follow.
Similarvery, extremely, really, incredibly, so
Note
The prefix set free to stand before any adjective: super awesome, super interesting, super worried. The Canberra Times called a job super interesting in 1992, and Elon Musk tweeted in 2022 that he was not super worried.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
The independent word super derives from the prefix super-. en.wiktionary.org
The Canberra Times printed “super interesting” about a job in 1992. en.wiktionary.org
Elon Musk tweeted in 2022 that he was not “super worried”. en.wiktionary.org
Musk's quoted wording includes “not super worried”. en.wiktionary.org
2
first-rateadjective
Excellent; very good or of very high quality.
The dinner she cooked for us was absolutely super.
They threw a super party to celebrate the championship.
Similarexcellent, great, superb, wonderful, fantastic
Oppositeawful, terrible, poor, bad
3
building managernouncolloquialUSabbreviationclipping
Short form of superintendent, especially a building's resident manager.
Our building's super keeps the boiler running all winter.
When the elevator stalled, the super came right up.
UsageSay building super when the context is unclear.
Note
Americans know the super as the person who keeps a building running and sometimes collects the rent on the landlord's behalf. Superintendent itself also names a Commonwealth police rank and the head of a Sunday school, but the short form points first to the building.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
In the United States, super is short for a building superintendent responsible for maintenance. en.wikipedia.org
A building superintendent sometimes collects rent on the landlord's behalf. en.wiktionary.org
Superintendent is a police rank in Commonwealth countries. en.wikipedia.org
A superintendent can head a Sunday school. mtzionchapin.org
4
nounslangabbreviationclipping
Short for superhero: a fictional hero with extraordinary powers, skills, or equipment, especially in comics.
The comic introduced a super who controls the weather.
The city's supers joined forces to stop the villain.
Note
Comics slang for a fictional hero with supernatural powers or equipment. Superhero can also stretch to a real-world hero of seemingly impossible ability, but the clipped super stays with the fictional, comic-book kind.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Super is a clipping of superhero. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

5
retirement fundnouncolloquialAustraliaNew Zealandabbreviationclipping
Short for superannuation: in Australia, money saved and invested for retirement; in New Zealand, the state pension.
Most of his super is invested in a balanced fund.
Workers can grow their super steadily over many years.
UsageOften with a possessive: your super, money taken from their super.
Note
In Australia, super is the retirement fund built up from wage deductions and employer contributions. In New Zealand it usually means NZ Super, the state pension paid from age 65.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Australian superannuation is savings for retirement, funded through employer contributions. moneysmart.gov.au
Australian superannuation can also receive contributions deducted from wages. moneysmart.gov.au
NZ Super is New Zealand's state pension, payable from age 65. sorted.org.nz
6
bossnouncolloquialabbreviationclipping
Short form of supervisor: a person who oversees a group of workers, especially on a shift or work site.
Our shift super praised us for finishing the job early.
New workers should check in with the shift super when they arrive.
UsageIn writing, supervisor avoids confusion with the building manager.
7
fast computernouncolloquialabbreviationclipping
Short form of supercomputer: one of the fastest and most powerful computers of its time, used for heavy scientific calculation.
The performances and cost ranges of three classes of commercial supercomputers are given in Table 2.1. The full-scale supers are the most expensive class, represented by Cray, ETA, and Fujitsu systems, for example.
1989, Kai Hwang, Doug DeGroot
Note
Even engineers clip it. A 1989 book on parallel processing edited by Kai Hwang and Doug DeGroot calls the most expensive class of machines "full-scale supers", naming Cray, ETA and Fujitsu systems as examples. The short form comes right after the full word supercomputers. That is a sensible habit, given how many other things a super can be.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The cited book on parallel processing was first published in 1989. openlibrary.org
The passage uses “full-scale supers” for the most expensive class, gives Cray, ETA and Fujitsu as examples, and follows a sentence containing “supercomputers”. en.wiktionary.org
8
extra actornouncolloquialabbreviationclipping
Short form of supernumerary, especially a supernumerary actor.
A super carried the queen's train across the stage.
The company recruited locals to work as supers for the opera.
Note
Backstage shorthand for the walk-on who fills out a stage, often without a line to speak: the spear carrier of a crowd scene or procession. Supers are hired in numbers to swell a crowd, and the colloquial word can carry a faint condescension. In Ring Lardner's 1916 story, a show given by "a bunch o' supers" is one the speaker would rather see "with a real cast."
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Ring Lardner's story containing the quotation is “Three Kings and a Pair,” published in 1916. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted words are exact; Bishop is the fictional speaker who says he would like to see the production with a real cast. gutenberg.org
9
nouncolloquialabbreviationclipping
Short form of supertanker: a very large ship built to carry crude oil in bulk.
That is a lot of ship, about the size of big tankers before they grew so rapidly to become supers, mammoths and oilbergs.
1973, Jeffrey Potter, Disaster by Oil
Note
One of a small family of nicknames for giant oil carriers. Jeffrey Potter's Disaster by Oil (1973) describes tankers growing so fast that they became "supers, mammoths and oilbergs", and the clipped form sits easily among those playful coinages.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Jeffrey Potter wrote Disaster by Oil. en.wikipedia.org
Potter describes tankers growing rapidly into "supers, mammoths and oilbergs." en.wiktionary.org
10
nouncolloquial
A caption or image laid over the main picture on screen.
11
verbcolloquial
Clipping of superimpose: in film and television, to lay text or an image over another shot.
12
nouncolloquial
Short form of supernaturalist, especially as contrasted with a 'bright.'
13
nouncolloquial
Clipping of superhive: a removable box set on top of a beehive where bees store extra honey.
14
verbcolloquial
Clipping of superhive: in beekeeping, to add a super, an extra honey box, on top of a hive.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–2

This comes from the prefix "super-", which passed through Middle English "super-" from Latin "super-", from Latin "super" meaning "above". It is a doublet of "over" and "hyper".

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Super comes from the prefix super-, through Middle English super- and Latin super-. en.wiktionary.org
Latin super- comes from Latin super, meaning above. en.wiktionary.org
Super is a doublet of over and hyper. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 3–9

It is an abbreviation formed by shortening a longer word.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Super has an origin as an abbreviation formed by shortening a longer word. en.wiktionary.org