regent

American  

[ree-juhnt] / ˈri dʒənt /

noun

• regents
  plural

1. a person who exercises the ruling power in a kingdom during the minority, absence, or disability of the sovereign.

2. a ruler or governor.

3. a member of the governing board of a state university or a state educational system.

4. a university officer who exercises general supervision over the conduct and welfare of the students.

5. (in certain Catholic universities) a member of the religious order who is associated in the administration of a school or college with a layperson who is its dean or director.

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adjective

1. acting as regent of a country; exercising ruling authority on behalf of a sovereign during their minority, absence, or disability (usually used postpositively).

   a prince regent.

regent British  

/ ˈriːdʒənt /

noun

1. the ruler or administrator of a country during the minority, absence, or incapacity of its monarch

2. (formerly) a senior teacher or administrator in any of certain universities

3. a member of the governing board of certain schools and colleges

4. rare any person who governs or rules

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adjective

1. (usually postpositive) acting or functioning as a regent

   a queen regent

2. rare governing, ruling, or controlling

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• regentship
  noun
• subregent
  noun
• regental
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• regents
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of regent

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin regent- (stem of regēns ), present participle of regere “to rule”

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Explanation

In a monarchy, if the king gets too sick to rule his country, a regent steps in to run things temporarily. When kings or queens aren't able to do their jobs — because they're ill, or often because they are children — trusted advisers called regents fill in. You can think of a regent as a substitute monarch. There's also a more permanent kind of regent who helps to run a business or university and can also be called a trustee or board member. In Latin, regent means "ruling," from the verb regere, "to rule."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

regent regents

One regent signaled he is rethinking his own vote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Crown Prince Haakon, 53, the successor to the Norwegian throne, has been serving as regent while his father is on leave.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

His son, Crown Prince Haakon, 53, has been serving as regent while his father is on leave.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

The sole student regent position was approved by voters in 1974.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

"You really should have a moon manicure. I'll have my nail attendant do one for you. When I am regent queen, I will mandate it. Even for Belles. Everything about a person should be beautiful."

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

In 2021, the school’s board of regents approved the building of the 163,000-square-foot Leinweber Computer Science and Information Building.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

In his farewell address to the regents that October, he warned against allowing the Smithsonian to become seen as affiliated with one party or ideological bent.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

Pressure on the regents to quickly decide on the future of the SAT has grown since early this summer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

The regents cast the Wednesday discussions as the opening of a months-long process to evaluate testing and student preparation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

He led the regents to believe that his addition had been approved by the faculty senate, which, in fact, was unaware of the proposed change.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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Related Words

• ruler

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