administer
Americanverb (used with object)
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administers,
present (3rd person singular)
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administered,
past participle, past
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administering
present participle
-
to manage (affairs, a government, etc.); have executive charge of.
to administer the law.
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to bring into use or operation: to administer last rites.
to administer justice;
to administer last rites.
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to make application of; give.
to administer medicine.
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to supervise the formal taking of (an oath or the like).
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Law. to manage or dispose of, as a decedent's estate by an executor or administrator or a trust estate by a trustee.
verb (used without object)
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administers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
administered,
past participle, past
-
administering
present participle
-
to contribute assistance; bring aid or supplies (usually followed byto ).
to administer to those in need of aid.
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to perform the duties of an administrator.
She administers quite effectively.
verb
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(also intr) to direct or control (the affairs of a business, government, etc)
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to put into execution; dispense
administer justice
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to give or apply (medicine, assistance, etc) as a remedy or relief
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to apply formally; perform
to administer extreme unction
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to supervise or impose the taking of (an oath, etc)
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to manage or distribute (an estate, property, etc)
Synonym Usage
See rule.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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administrantnoun
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nonadministrantadjective
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self-administeredadjective
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self-administeringadjective
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unadministeredadjective
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well-administeredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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administersimple
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administerssimple
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have administeredperfect
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has administeredperfect
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am administeringprogressive
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are administeringprogressive
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is administeringprogressive
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have been administeringperfect progressive
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has been administeringperfect progressive
Past
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administeredsimple
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had administeredperfect
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was administeringprogressive
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were administeringprogressive
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had been administeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of administer
First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin administrāre “to assist, carry out, manage the affairs of” ( see ad-, minister); replacing Middle English amynistre (with a- 5 ), from Middle French aministrer
Explanation
When you administer something, you give it to others. This can apply to a dose of medicine, an order, a survey, or a punishment. Administer can also mean to run something — such as a school or an office. The word administer belongs to a family of words, all having to do with being in charge: administration, administrator, and administrative. Strangely, administer comes from the Latin word minister meaning "servant." So, if your boss or principal administers an instruction that you disagree with, just think of that person as your servant. Doing so will help you carry out your duties with a smile.
Vocabulary lists containing administer
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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Marbury v. Madison (1803)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Future versions could potentially be taken as an oral tablet, which could make the treatment easier to administer and potentially broaden its use beyond mesothelioma.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
She said the Fed could still hold rates steady rather than administer that medicine, but it would have to explain its decision clearly to markets.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
The state also required all schools to administer state-approved screening for reading difficulties three times a year, from kindergarten to third grade, and to immediately notify parents when children fell below benchmarks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
“Despite the significant efforts from specialists to administer care, medical treatment and extensive testing, veterinarians did not identify one definitive cause for her poor condition,” the center said on its website.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Many of these people died, Carey pointed out, “without a human being to hand them a drink of water, to administer medicines, or to perform any charitable office for them.”
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
On average, families complete the five-year program with $8,500 in savings, according to Compass Working Capital, one of the HUD partners that administers the program and also provides financial coaching to tenants who participate.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
Lawton's letter was sent from a company called Equiniti, which administers the pension scheme on behalf of the MoD.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The Commerce Department, which administers the steel and aluminum tariffs, declined to comment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The third-party certifying body administers random testing throughout the growing process and tests each product that arrives at the company’s New Jersey warehouse before it is released to stores, according to the website.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
“You might be surprised who administers the penalties.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
And what types of evaluations should be administered?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
A prize that requires consensus among people who disagree about nearly everything is harder to pull toward any one agenda than a prize administered by allies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
Those entitled are low earners who have missed out on the money because of the way their pension is administered.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
EVs administered without the MAP scaffold failed to produce comparable blood vessel repair.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
The resulting empires were administered with the aid of writing.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Minnesota are among a small group of states with a decentralized election system, in which individual cities and towns, rather than counties, are responsible for administering ballots.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026
It is common practice for the state to consider aligning its tax code with the federal structure to make filing taxes easier and administering them more cheaply.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
But Plymouth isn’t Congress, and a municipal historical commission isn’t administering federal Indian affairs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
If I lose both my father and brother in a short period, I expect to be responsible for administering the trust and managing the house for my niece.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
These men were in charge of administering the prisons on a day-to-day basis.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
