Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

super

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Remove ads
See also: Super, súper, súpeř, süper, super-, and supèr-

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From super- (prefix), from Middle English super-, from Latin super-, from super (“above”). Doublet of over and hyper.

Adjective

super (not comparable)

  1. Of excellent quality, superfine.
  2. Better than average, better than usual; wonderful.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

super (not comparable)(colloquial)

  1. Very; extremely (used like the prefix super-).
    The party was super awesome.
    • 1992 March 14, The Canberra Times, page 9, column 2:
      The job is super interesting for a person who enjoys a hardware environment and communicating with people.
    • 2022 November 18, Ryan Mac, Mike Isaac, Kellen Browning, quoting Elon Musk, “Elon Musk’s Twitter Teeters on the Edge After Another 1,200 Leave”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:
      “The best people are staying, so I’m not super worried,” he tweeted.
  2. Absolutely; utterly.
    I super don't care about that.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation by shortening.

Noun

super (plural supers)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand, informal) Clipping of superannuation.
    Jane looked forward to collecting a large super payout when she retired.
    • 2025 October 16, Melissa Davey, “Australians took more than $1.4bn from their super last year for everything from weight loss to dental work”, in The Guardian‎, Guardian Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, retrieved 16 October 2025:
      “I want to make it clear, compassionate release of super should only be considered as a last resort, where all other options of paying for the eligible expenses have been exhausted,” she said.
  2. Clipping of supercomputer.
    • 1989, Kai Hwang, Doug DeGroot, Parallel processing for supercomputers and artificial intelligence:
      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.
  3. (comics, slang) Clipping of superhero.
  4. (beekeeping) Clipping of superhive.
    • 1983, Sue Hubbell, A Country Year: Living the Questions, Boston, MA: Mariner Books, published 1999, →ISBN, page 69:
      There may be thirty to fifty supers in every outyard, and we have only about half an hour to get them off the hives, stacked and covered before the bees get really cross about what we are doing.
  5. (informal, US) Clipping of superintendent, especially, a building's resident manager (sometimes clarified as “building super”).
  6. (neologism) Clipping of supernaturalist, especially as distinguished from bright.
  7. Clipping of supernumerary; (theater) specifically, a supernumerary actor.
    • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
      For this scene, a large number of supers are engaged, and in order to further swell the crowd, practically all the available stage hands have to ‘walk on’ dressed in various coloured dominoes, and all wearing masks.
    • 1916, Ring W. Lardner, “Three Kings and a Pair”, in The Saturday Evening Post‎:
      The piece was gave by a bunch o’ supers the time I went. I’d like to see it with a real cast. They say it’s a whiz when it’s acted right.
  8. Clipping of supertanker.
    • 1973, Jeffrey Potter, Disaster by Oil, page 46:
      That is a lot of ship, about the size of big tankers before they grew so rapidly to become supers, mammoths and oilbergs.
  9. Clipping of supervisor.
  10. (television) A superimposed caption or image.
    • 2009, James Robert Parish, Jim Henson, page 114:
      Supers are superimposed words that run across the TV screen and provide information such as the names of interview subjects. The newsroom sends a printed list of these supers to Perry.

Verb

super (third-person singular simple present supers, present participle supering, simple past and past participle supered)

  1. (beekeeping) Clipping of superhive.
    • 1917 Dadant, C. P., First Lessons in Beekeeping; revised & rewritten edition, 1968, by M. G. Dadant and J. C. Dadant, p 73:
      The question is: when is the best time to super?
  2. (television) Clipping of superimpose.
    • 1987, Television Quarterly, volumes 23-24:
      Even running a supered "Re-enactment" caption for a few seconds is poor policy, he feels […]

Anagrams

Remove ads

Chinese

Etymology 1

From English super. Popularized by Eric Tsang in the Super Trio series.

Pronunciation

Interjection

super

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) Used when a tied or draw situation occurs, or when one is suggesting a draw.

Etymology 2

Clipping of English supervisor.

Pronunciation

Noun

super

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang) supervisor (of a student)
  2. (Hong Kong Cantonese) supervisor; manager
Remove ads

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from English super, French super, from Latin super.

Pronunciation

Adjective

super (indeclinable)

  1. (informal) super, great
    Synonym: supr
    Můj brácha si koupil super auto, to musíš vidět!
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    Ten výlet byl prostě super!
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Usage notes

  • This word is slightly more formal than supr, yet still informal.

See also

Interjection

super

  1. (informal) super
    Synonym: supr

Further reading

  • “super”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed via English super from Latin super (“over”)

Pronunciation

Adjective

super (neuter super or supert, plural super or (unofficial) supre)

  1. (informal) terrific

Adverb

super

  1. (informal) very

Synonyms

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English super, ultimately from Latin super.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsy.pər/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: su‧per

Adverb

super

  1. (informal) very, extremely, super
    De kunststofuitvoering is wel super duur.
    The plastic version is super expensive.

Derived terms

Adjective

super (not comparable)

  1. great, super
    Die nieuwe karts zijn super.
    Those new karts are great.

Declension

More information Declension of, uninflected ...
Remove ads

Esperanto

Etymology

From Latin super. Doublet of sur.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsuper/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -uper
  • Hyphenation: su‧per

Preposition

super

  1. above, over
    • 1927, L. L. Zamenhof, transl., La Sankta Biblio [The Holy Bible]‎ (hardcover), London; Edinburgh: British and Foreign Bible Society; Scottish Bible Society, →ISBN, page 5:
      Kaj la tero estis senforma kaj dezerta, kaj mallumo estis super la abismo; kaj la spirito de Dio ŝvebis super la akvo.
      And the Earth was formless and deserted, and darkness was above the abyss; and the spirit of God hovered over the water.

Antonyms

Remove ads

French

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin super. Doublet of the inherited sur. See also hyper, borrowed from Ancient Greek.

Pronunciation

Adjective

super (invariable)

  1. superb, great
Derived terms
Descendants
  • → Turkish: süper

Adverb

super

  1. (informal) extremely, very (as an intensifier)
    Il est super beau
    he's very handsome
Synonyms

Interjection

super

  1. great, fantastic

Etymology 2

Probably a borrowing from a Germanic language, from *sūpaną (“to sip, sup”). If so then doublet of souper.

Pronunciation

Verb

super

  1. (regional) to suck, to sip
Conjugation
Conjugation of super (see also Appendix:French verbs)
More information infinitive, simple ...

Further reading

Anagrams

Remove ads

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin super; modern usage influenced by English super.

Pronunciation

Adjective

super (strong nominative masculine singular superer, not comparable)

  1. (colloquial) super, great, awesome
    Synonyms: klasse, spitze

Usage notes

In the standard language, super is indeclinable; it is only rarely declined in colloquial usage.

Declension

Positive forms of super (uncomparable)
More information number & gender, singular ...

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “super” in Duden online
  • “super” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Remove ads

Interlingua

Preposition

super

  1. about (focused on a given topic)

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin super. Cf. sopra.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsu.per/
  • Rhymes: -uper
  • Hyphenation: sù‧per

Adjective

super (invariable)

  1. super

Noun

super m (invariable)

  1. the best
  2. superphosphate

Noun

super f (invariable)

  1. the best grade of petrol

Anagrams

Latin

FWOTD – 16 August 2013

Etymology

    From Proto-Italic *super, from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over, above”). Cognate to Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “above”), German über (“above, over”), Sanskrit उपरि (upári, “above, upper”), Hindi ऊपर (ūpar, “above, top, up”), Odia ଉପର (upara, “above, up”) and Punjabi ਉੱਪਰ (uppar, “above, top, up”).

    The accusative is from the pre-PIE directional. The ablative is from the ablative of cause.

    Pronunciation

    Preposition

    super (+ accusative, ablative)

    1. (with accusative or ablative) [of place] above, over, on the top of, upon
      Cibus super mēnsam est.
      The food is on the table.
    2. (with accusative) [of place] above, beyond
      • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Genesis.1.2:
        terra autem erat inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas
        And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.
    3. (with accusative) [of measure] above, beyond, over, in addition to
    4. (with ablative) concerning, regarding

    Derived terms

    Adverb

    super (comparative superius, superlative summē or suprēmē)

    1. above, on top, over
    2. upwards
    3. moreover, in addition, besides, on top of this, too, also
      • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.29:
        Hīs accēnsa super [...]
        [Juno] having been inflamed by these [things] in addition [...]
        Or, translated more plainly:
        With all of this angering her [...]
        (See: Juno (mythology).)

    Quotations

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    References

    • “super”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • “super”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • “super”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
    • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
      • the river is over its banks, is in flood: flumen super ripas effunditur
    • super in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
    Remove ads

    Polish

    Etymology

    Borrowed from English super.

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    super (not comparable, indeclinable, no derived adverb)

    1. (colloquial) great, excellent
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dobry

    Adverb

    super (not comparable)

    1. (colloquial) excellently

    See also

    Further reading

    • super in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
    • super in Polish dictionaries at PWN

    Portuguese

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    Unadapted borrowing from Latin super; cf. also English super. Doublet of the inherited sobre.

    Pronunciation

     

    Adverb

    super (not comparable)

    1. (informal) super, very (intensifier)
      Synonyms: muito, bastante, bué, mega
      super fixe
      very nice

    Adjective

    super (invariable)

    1. super

    Further reading

    Romanian

    Etymology

    Borrowed from French super. Doublet of spre.

    Adjective

    super m or f or n (indeclinable)

    1. superb, great

    Declension

    More information singular, plural ...

    Adverb

    super

    1. superbly

    Sardinian

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    From Latin super.

    Pronunciation

    Preposition

    super

    1. on, on top of, above
      Synonym: supra

    Spanish

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin super; cf. also English super. Doublet of the inherited sobre.

    Adjective

    super (invariable)

    1. (intensifier) very, mega

    Swedish

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /²sʉːpɛr/
    • IPA(key): [ˈsʉːpːær] (Finland, verb)
    • IPA(key): [ˈsʉpær] (Finland, adjective)

    Verb

    super

    1. present indicative of supa

    Adjective

    super (not comparable)

    1. perfect, super, excellent, great
      det blir super! ― that's going to be great!

    Declension

    Only used predicatively.

    Wikiwand - on

    Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

    Remove ads
    Remove ads