superintendent

Pluralsuperintendents

1. 1
   nouncountable

   Someone officially placed in charge of overseeing, directing, or managing something.

   The superintendent reviewed every department's budget before the meeting.

   Factory owners appointed a superintendent to oversee daily operations.

   Similarsupervisor, overseer, manager, director, administrator

   Note

   A title with church roots: Church Latin superintendens was a word-for-word rendering of Greek episkopos, so superintendent is a distant cousin of bishop. In this broad sense it names anyone formally placed over an operation. The more specific titles, such as a police rank, a building manager or the head of a Sunday school, are this one idea narrowed to a single workplace.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   The manager of a building, usually one with many apartments, responsible for keeping it working and often collecting rent for or as the landlord.

   The superintendent collects rent from every tenant on the first of the month.

   When the elevator broke, residents complained to the building's superintendent.

   Similarmanager, caretaker

   Note

   In everyday speech this title is usually clipped to super: tenants call the super about a leak, a broken lock or a dead radiator. The short form is tied to this residential sense, so "the super" in conversation points to the person who keeps an apartment building running. In writing and formal notices the full word is the safer choice.

3. 3
   nounCommonwealthcountable

   In Commonwealth police forces, the rank between chief inspector and chief superintendent, or an officer holding it.

   The superintendent briefed reporters on the progress of the case.

   Two superintendents coordinated security for the royal visit.

   Note

   A rank on a fixed ladder in Commonwealth police forces. Because chief superintendent is the step above, the same word names two consecutive grades. In Lawrence R. Bourne's Well Tackled! (1928) a superintendent is already directing others in the field. American readers should keep it apart from the janitor's title, a US use that names someone at the other end of the hierarchy.

4. 4
   nounUScountable

   A person employed to clean and maintain a building, such as a school or office; a janitor.

   The superintendent swept the corridors and emptied the trash bins each evening.

   Students waved to the superintendent as he repaired a broken locker.

   Similarjanitor, custodian, caretaker

   Note

   A chiefly American use, and the one most likely to trip up other readers: here superintendent can mean the person who sweeps the halls and fixes lockers rather than someone who directs others. Context decides it. In a Commonwealth newspaper the word suggests a senior police officer. In an American building it may simply mean the custodian, closer to janitor than to manager.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   In certain Protestant denominations, a senior minister responsible for supervising the clergy within a district.

   The superintendent ordained three new ministers at the spring assembly.

   Each pastor reported to the district superintendent twice a year.

   Note

   Here the word returns to the church that coined it. The usual phrase is district superintendent, an ordained overseer of other ministers. The title quietly echoes the Greek episkopos behind the general sense, which by another road became English bishop, so these churches name their overseer with a cousin of the word they set aside.

6. 6
   nouncountable

   The person in overall charge of running a Sunday school.

   The superintendent welcomed new families to the Sunday school each week.

   Under the new superintendent, the Sunday school doubled in size.

7. 7
   adjective

   Having the role of overseeing or directing; superintending.

   The commission was granted superintendent authority over the entire railway network.

   Parliament established a superintendent council to direct the colonies' affairs.

   Similarsupervisory, managerial

   Note

   An adjective that cannot be graded: an authority is superintendent or it is not, so "more superintendent" does not work. Its close rival is the participle superintending, which carries the same meaning and usually sounds more natural. Because the noun can also stand before another noun, phrases like superintendent council can read either way.

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