supers

1. 1
   nouncolloquial

   Plural of super.

   The director needed extra supers to fill out the marketplace shot.

   The tenants complained to the supers about the leaking pipes.

   Note

   One plural serves a whole family of clipped words, and only context tells them apart. In Australia and New Zealand, super is short for superannuation. In the US, it usually means a superintendent, especially a building's resident manager, which is why "building super" is sometimes said for clarity. It can also stand for superhero, supercomputer or superhive. Every one of these is casual speech, so the full word is safer in formal writing.

2. 2
   verbcolloquial

   Third-person singular simple present of super.

   The broadcast team supers a name graphic whenever a new speaker appears.

   The beekeeper supers the colony early to prevent overcrowding.

   Note

   Two colloquial verbs share this form: one is clipped from superimpose, the other from superhive. A production crew supers a caption over footage, and a beekeeper supers a colony. The adjective and adverb super (a super idea, super keen) never take an -s, so supers is either this verb or the plural noun. A subject in front of it marks the verb.

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