govern

American  

[guhv-ern] / ˈgʌv ərn /

verb (used with object)

• governs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• governed,
  past participle,  past
• governing
  present participle

1. to rule over by right of authority.

   to govern a nation.

   Synonyms:

   reign

   Antonyms:

   obey

2. to exercise a directing or restraining influence over; guide.

   the motives governing a decision.

   Synonyms:

   superintend, supervise, conduct, influence, sway, control

3. to hold in check; control.

   to govern one's temper.

4. to serve as or constitute a law for.

   the principles governing a case.

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.

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verb (used without object)

• governs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• governed,
  past participle,  past
• governing
  present participle

1. to exercise the function of government.

2. to have predominating influence.

govern British  

/ ˈɡʌvən /

verb

1. (also intr) to direct and control the actions, affairs, policies, functions, etc, of (a political unit, organization, nation, etc); rule

2. to exercise restraint over; regulate or direct

   to govern one's temper

3. to be a predominant influence on (something); decide or determine (something)

   his injury governed his decision to avoid sports

4. to control the speed of (an engine, machine, etc) using a governor

5. to control the rate of flow of (a fluid) by using an automatic valve

6. (of a word) to determine the inflection of (another word)

   Latin nouns govern adjectives that modify them

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Usage

What does govern mean? Govern means to rule over something with authority, as in In a democracy, people elect those who will govern them. Govern can also mean to hold something in check, like your temper. And govern can mean to act as a guiding force, as when your stomach governs your food choices. Govern, meaning to rule over something, is almost always used to refer to government or politics, as in The president did his best to govern the country during the war. Presidents and prime ministers are examples of people who govern countries or nations. A person who governs something might be called a governor but is just as likely to be referred to by an official title. Govern can also mean to control or curb something, as in The waiter wanted to shout at the rude customer but he managed to govern his anger. Govern is also used to mean to restrain influence over something by acting as a guide, as in The lawyer always let his strong sense of justice govern his actions. Example: Most voters were undecided who would be better at governing the country.

Synonym Usage

See rule.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• governability
  noun
• governableness
  noun
• overgovern
  verb (used with object)
• regovern
  verb (used with object)
• supergovern
  verb (used with object)
• governable
  adjective
• ungoverned
  adjective
• ungoverning
  adjective
• well-governed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• governing
  present
• governed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• govern
  simple
• governs
  simple
• have governed
  perfect
• has governed
  perfect
• am governing
  progressive
• are governing
  progressive
• is governing
  progressive
• have been governing
  perfect progressive
• has been governing
  perfect progressive

Past

• governed
  simple
• had governed
  perfect
• was governing
  progressive
• were governing
  progressive
• had been governing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will govern
  simple
• will have governed
  perfect
• will be governing
  progressive
• will have been governing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of govern

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French gouverner, from Latin gubernāre “to steer (a ship),” from Greek kybernân “to steer”; cf. cybernetics ( def. )

Explanation

To govern is to rule, lead, oversee, or otherwise control. Each U.S. state has its own governor, whose job it is to govern the affairs of that state. While it's true that governors govern — that is, they head the executive branch of their state government — there are lots of other ways to use the verb govern. Almost anything that controls or has a lot of influence over something else can be said to govern. The rules of tennis, for example, govern the way that game is played. In mechanics, a device that controls other devices is called a governor. My dog's basic needs govern the way my household is run: his schedule is our schedule.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

govern governs governed governing

“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will ensure that immigration filings are decided based on the laws, regulations, and binding legal precedent that govern each case.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

"By combining multi-site sensitivity with femtosecond resolution, we are opening a new window on the microscopic mechanisms that govern photochemistry."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

But sources say in addition to rejecting Infantino's plan, the vast majority of the Concacaf members are either losing faith in the Fifa president's ability to govern the game, or have lost it altogether.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Under rules passed by lawmakers that govern the fund, at least $500 million can be drawn annually to fund the child-care initiative.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

“I don’t know...” she began, and swallowed hard to govern her nausea.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

The talks are taking place seven months after US forces seized president Nicolas Maduro and as interim leader Delcy Rodriguez governs under Washington's watchful eye.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Uefa - which governs European football - had earlier voted to boycott World Cups if the plans went ahead, and other governing bodies also voiced their opposition.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

“What they have done is lower the standard for everything,” said Ali Khawar, a former senior official at the Department of Labor, which is charged with enforcing the federal law that governs retirement savings.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

On the republic’s 250th birthday, that is worth celebrating: not the government that governs us, but the restless, inventive, association-forming energy of the American people themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

It governs the behavior of transistors and integrated circuits, which are the essential components of electronic devices such as televisions and computers, and is also the basis of modern chemistry and biology.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

Airfare advertising is currently governed by the “full fare advertising rule,” established in 2012.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

"A country cannot be governed by remote control while critical socioeconomic challenges go unaddressed," he said last week.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

By connecting non-inertial quantum effects with measurable particle behavior, the work opens a new direction for studying matter governed by the strong interaction.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

That said, there’s also a fair question concerning whether Britain can be governed at all in any conventional sense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Monod and Jacob, working with Arthur Pardee, a microbial geneticist from America, discovered three cardinal principles that governed the regulation of genes.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

By their nature, Earth’s Green Lanterns are a natural fit to serve the Justice League’s governing inner circle.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

The rapid advance of open-weight models, which make public a set of numerical values governing their behavior, is certainly a concern for closed-model developers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

In their coalition agreement for governing the city, the Social Democrats and liberals pledged to expand public toilet provision and examine whether public toilets could be made free for everyone.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

The 10-year deal was announced Thursday by the California Interscholastic Federation, which is the governing body for high school sports in the state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Every state has its own rules and regulations governing their imposition.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• control
• curb
• decide
• determine
• dominate
• guide
• handle
• inhibit
• manage
• regulate
• rule