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

Senate, governor and attorney general — suggest lots of room for movement in the less than 12 weeks remaining until Oct.

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026

It comes at a time when Newsom is wrapping up his final year as California governor and considering a presidential run in 2028.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Warsh, a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, has argued for more than a decade that the Fed’s forecasts breed conformity and its data are stale by the time policymakers see them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

In April 2025, the governor of Nigeria's embattled Borno state, Babagana Zulum, alleged that informants and collaborators for Boko Haram insurgents were operating within the country's armed forces, political class and local communities.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

We knew of the phenomenon called the Bradley effect, named for an African American candidate, Tom Bradley, who’d run for governor in California in the early 1980s.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The 18 governors and reserve bank presidents who, with Warsh, make up the interest rate-setting committee “have received me incredibly warmly,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

While Kennedy describes himself at times as a small-town lawyer from Sacramento, he knew the two California governors, both Republicans, who reshaped the Supreme Court.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Dissents from governors have been extremely rare since the mid-1990s.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

In many cases, those women were widows appointed by governors or chosen by voters to take over their deceased husbands’ seats.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

He had visited governors of distant provinces before; he had attended state banquets and done his best to charm those his father asked him to charm.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo