manage

American  

[man-ij] / ˈmæn ɪdʒ /

verb (used with object)

manages, present (3rd person singular) managed, past participle, past managing present participle

1. to bring about or succeed in accomplishing, sometimes despite difficulty or hardship.

   She managed to see the governor. How does she manage it on such a small income?

   Synonyms:

   contrive, arrange

2. to take charge or care of.

   to manage my investments.

3. to dominate or influence (a person) by tact, flattery, or artifice.

   He manages the child with exemplary skill.

4. to handle, direct, govern, or control in action or use.

   She managed the boat efficiently.

   Synonyms:

   engineer, regulate, conduct, guide

5. to wield (a weapon, tool, etc.).

   Synonyms:

   manipulate, handle

6. to handle or train (a horse) in the exercises of the manège.

7. Archaic. to use sparingly or with judgment, as health or money; husband.

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verb (used without object)

manages, present (3rd person singular) managed, past participle, past managing present participle

1. to conduct business, commercial affairs, etc.; be in charge.

   Who will manage while the boss is away?

2. to continue to function, progress, or succeed, usually despite hardship or difficulty; get along.

   How will he manage with his wife gone? It was a rough time, but we managed.

manage British  

/ ˈmænɪdʒ /

verb

1. (also intr) to be in charge (of); administer

   to manage one's affairs

   to manage a shop

2. to succeed in being able (to do something) despite obstacles; contrive

   did you manage to go to sleep?

3. to have room, time, etc, for

   can you manage dinner tomorrow?

4. to exercise control or domination over, often in a tactful or guileful manner

5. (intr) to contrive to carry on despite difficulties, esp financial ones

   he managed quite well on very little money

6. to wield or handle (a weapon)

7. rare to be frugal in the use of

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noun

1. an archaic word for manège

Synonym Usage

See rule.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overmanage
  verb (used with object)
• undermanage
  verb (used with object)
• quasi-managed
  adjective
• self-managing
  adjective
• undermanaged
  adjective
• unmanaged
  adjective
• well-managed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• managing
  present
• managed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• manage
  simple
• manages
  simple
• have managed
  perfect
• has managed
  perfect
• am managing
  progressive
• are managing
  progressive
• is managing
  progressive
• have been managing
  perfect progressive
• has been managing
  perfect progressive

Past

• managed
  simple
• had managed
  perfect
• was managing
  progressive
• were managing
  progressive
• had been managing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will manage
  simple
• will have managed
  perfect
• will be managing
  progressive
• will have been managing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of manage

First recorded in 1555–65; earlier manege, from Italian maneggiare “to handle, train (horses),” derivative of mano, from Latin manus “hand”

Explanation

To manage is to skillfully handle something. If you can barely manage to keep your goldfish alive, you should probably think twice about adopting those Golden Retriever puppies. The verb manage also means to supervise or oversee either things or people at work. You might manage six people at the donut shop, even though you've only worked there for four months. If you carefully manage your donut shop earnings, you should be able to buy that new car next year. Manage also means to cope with or come to terms with. It might seem scary to go to college in another state, but I know you'll manage.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

manage manages managed managing

The new private entity would manage its Golden Globes assets while maintaining the charitable and philanthropic programs in a separate nonprofit entity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

"He is more than fit to manage Les Bleus, given what he did at Real Madrid with great players and big egos."

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Please do this as soon as possible and, crucially, before you take any formal actions to manage the estate.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

The medications that cause ovarian suppression and have effectively relieved menstrual pain and helped millions of women to manage endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, and ovarian cysts?

From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026

Hila had never even let him touch the thing, convinced that even with it just sitting in his palm, he’d somehow manage to unleash an army of the undead on Manhattan or something.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Hiroki Suzuka, who manages a coffee shop opposite the road where the Fujisawa mosque is set to be built, calls for greater understanding and dialogue.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

It seems likely that with each passing year, humanity collectively forgets more of its cultural heritage than it manages to learn anew.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

The company currently manages over 7 billion devices in real time.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Obsession” never manages to say anything that hasn’t been said in five more interesting ways by other recent films, several of which were released this year.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

Her family manages an awkward “Nice to meet you,” and they leave too.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

It almost got captured several times but managed to escape the clutches of the crew members or from underneath the towels they were tossing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Catalyst is responsible for about $14 billion under management, and in the last year funds managed by Miller like the Catalyst Insider Buying index returned 13%, while the Catalyst Millburn Hedge Strategy delivered 17%.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

But Zidane left at the end of a trophyless 2020-21 campaign, and has not managed since.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Alternatively, a Waymo can return to an Austin operations depot managed by Uber to park, charge up, and get cleaned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

This wasn’t easy, as his father’s chest was scarred from an old wound, so Torak only managed a lopsided oval.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

But now with the suspension of the agency managing these dollars, realizing a contract feels even more elusive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

The investigators also identified additional partner proteins involved in folding and transporting proinsulin, as well as detecting and managing misfolded versions.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

Yet schools have many fixed costs, such as maintaining, repairing, heating and cooling school buildings, operating cafeterias and managing many administrative functions that cannot easily be scaled down when enrollment declines inevitably reduce funding.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

Much of the overtime money the department spent went instead toward preparing for unrest, monitoring protests and vigils, guarding hotels housing federal agents, and managing the public response to federal violence.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

“I haven’t had a panic attack in years. I’ve gotten way better at managing it all.”

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

Related Words

• administer
• conduct
• dominate
• govern
• guide
• handle
• maintain
• operate
• oversee
• regulate
• run
• supervise
• take care of
• take over
• train
• use