governor

American  

[guhv-er-ner, ‑uh-ner] / ˈgʌv ər nər, ‑ə nər /

noun

governors plural

1. the executive head of a state in the U.S.

2. a person charged with the direction or control of an institution, society, etc..

   the governors of a bank; the governor of a prison.

3. Also called governor general.  the representative of the crown, as in the Commonwealth of Nations.

4. a ruler or chief magistrate appointed to govern a province, town, fort, or the like.

5. Machinery. a device for maintaining uniform speed regardless of changes of load, as by regulating the supply of fuel or working fluid.

6. British Informal.

   1. one's father.

   2. one's employer.

   3. any man of superior rank or status.

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governor British  

/ ˈɡʌvənə /

noun

1. a person who governs

2. the ruler or chief magistrate of a colony, province, etc

3. the representative of the Crown in a British colony

4. the senior administrator or head of a society, prison, etc

5. the chief executive of any state in the US

6. a device that controls the speed of an engine, esp by regulating the supply of fuel, etc, either to limit the maximum speed or to maintain a constant speed

7. Also called: head.  grammar

   1. a word in a phrase or clause that is the principal item and gives the function of the whole, as hat in the big red hat

   2. ( as modifier )

      a governor noun

8. informal a name or title of respect for a father, employer, etc

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Pronunciation

In governor, the process of dissimilation—the tendency for neighboring like sounds to become unlike or for one of them to disappear entirely—commonly results in the loss of the first of , producing the pronunciation . This pronunciation is heard even in regions where postvocalic is not usually dropped. A further loss, of the medial unstressed vowel, results in . All three pronunciations are standard. See colonel, February, library.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subgovernor
  noun
• undergovernor
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• governors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of governor

1250–1300; Middle English governour < Old French governeor, gouverneur < Latin gubernātōrem, accusative of gubernātor, equivalent to gubernā(re) to steer, govern + -tor -tor

Explanation

A governor leads a state government, just like a president leads a national government. If you know that governing means to be in charge of something, that should help you remember what a governor is. Just as mayors run cities and presidents and prime ministers run countries, governors run states. A governor is elected for a term, has a vice governor, and deals with a legislature, just like the U.S. President. Governor is a very important title in the U.S., and many governors — such as Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush — have gone on to become U.S. presidents.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

governor governors

“It’s like a gigantic battleship with a lot of barnacles that have kind of attached themselves to the ship over the years,” Jeremy Stein, a Harvard economist and former Fed governor, said of the bureaucracy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Meanwhile, Le Matin d'Algérie - a website critical of the government - noted the absence of the mayor and provincial governor during the initial rescue operation.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Three initially ran for governor: Troy Jackson, a progressive former state senator; Nirav Shah, a former Biden CDC official; and Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state.

From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026

Meanwhile, Fed governor Christopher Waller stoked concerns over an early interest rate hike as inflation continues to remain elevated.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

"This is wrong. A governor should know how to read and write! I am serious, Sancho. I want you to learn."

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

In a separate case involving the Federal Reserve, however, the court recognized a different rule for Fed governors, pointing to the long historical independence of central banking institutions.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

All of them, however, are designated as alternative governors on the team.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

However, as conditions worsened and warnings escalated, he and governors acted "with caution" and decided closure was the safest option.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

But its board of governors is not actually quasi-private or unique, except in the sense that all federal agencies have some unique origin story.

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026

The king’s Asian empire, alas, proved even more ephemeral than Alexander’s: within six months all his appointed governors were deposed, and Seleucus II was crowned in Babylon.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro