Definition of 'govern'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense governs
, present participle governing
, past tense, past participle governed
1. verb
To govern a place such as a country, or its people, means to be officially in charge of the place, and to have responsibility for making laws, managing the economy, and controlling public services.
2. verb
If a situation or activity is governed by a particular factor, rule, or force, it is controlled by that factor, rule, or force.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
govern in British English
verb (mainly tr)
1. (also intr)
3.
his injury governed his decision to avoid sports
6.
(of a word) to determine the inflection of (another word)
Latin nouns govern adjectives that modify them
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
governable (ˈgovernable) adjective
governability (ˌgovernaˈbility) or governableness (ˈgovernableness)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French gouverner, from Latin gubernāre to steer, from Greek kubernanWord Frequency
govern in American English
verb transitive
1.
to exercise authority over; rule, administer, direct, control, manage, etc.
4.
to regulate the speed of (an automobile, etc.) by means of a governor
5.
to be a rule or law for; determine
the scientific principles governing a phenomenon
6. Grammar
b.
; used as of prepositions with noun cases, esp. in highly inflected languages, and,
in English, more loosely, of any interrelationship between forms, as that between
a preposition and a following pronoun to require (a particular case or mood)
verb intransitive
SYNONYMY NOTE: govern implies the exercise of authority in controlling the actions of the members of a
body politic and directing the affairs of state, and generally connotes as its purpose
the maintenance of public order and the promotion of the common welfare; rule now usually signifies the exercise of arbitrary or autocratic power; administer implies the orderly management of governmental affairs by executive officials7.
to exercise the function of governing; rule
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
governable (ˈgovernable)
adjective
Word origin
ME governen < OFr gouverner < L gubernare, to pilot (a ship), direct, guide < Gr kybernan, to steer, govern, prob. of non-IE orig.
Word Frequency
govern in American English
(ˈɡʌvərn)
transitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. reign. See rule. 2. control, sway, influence, conduct, supervise, superintend.ANTONYMS 1. obey.2.
to exercise a directing or restraining influence over; guide
the motives governing a decision
3.
to hold in check; control
to govern one's temper
5. Grammar
to be regularly accompanied by or require the use of (a particular form). In They helped us, the verb helped governs the objective case of the pronoun we
6.
to regulate the speed of (an engine) with a governor
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
governable adjective
governability or governableness
noun
Word origin
[1250–1300; ME ‹ OF gouverner ‹ L gubernāre to steer (a ship) ‹ Gk kybernân to steer]Examples of 'govern' in a sentence
govern
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In other languages
govern
British English: govern
VERB /ˈɡʌvən/
To govern a country means to officially control and organize it.
They go to the polls on Friday to choose the people they want to govern their country.
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govern
Related terms of
govern
Source
Definition of govern from the Collins English Dictionary
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