preside
Americanverb (used without object)
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presides,
present (3rd person singular)
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presided,
past participle, past
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presiding
present participle
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to occupy the place of authority or control, as in an assembly or meeting; act as president or chairperson.
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to exercise management or control (usually followed byover ).
The lawyer presided over the estate.
verb
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to sit in or hold a position of authority, as over a meeting
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to exercise authority; control
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to occupy a position as an instrumentalist
he presided at the organ
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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presidesimple
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presidessimple
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have presidedperfect
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has presidedperfect
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am presidingprogressive
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are presidingprogressive
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is presidingprogressive
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have been presidingperfect progressive
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has been presidingperfect progressive
Past
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presidedsimple
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had presidedperfect
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was presidingprogressive
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were presidingprogressive
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had been presidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of preside
1605–15; < Latin praesidēre to preside over, literally, sit in front of, equivalent to prae- pre- + -sidēre, combining form of sedēre to sit 1
Explanation
When you preside over something, you're acting as the leader or president. The captain of a club presides over the meetings. Whether your title is President or not, when you preside, you're acting as a president or another kind of leader. A judge presides over a courtroom. The owner of a business presides over staff meetings. If you work in an office, your boss presides over the office. Presiding can mean ruling or just supervising something. If you preside over something, you're in charge of it.
Vocabulary lists containing preside
"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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Just Mercy
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 23–29, 2021
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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:
Los Angeles County voters face four runoff contests for Superior Court seats on Nov. 3, deciding who will preside over criminal and civil cases across the region.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
O'Neill was back by January, trying to preside over a chaotic transfer window while picking up the pieces of a badly damaged league campaign.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
That’s when Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee, is expected to preside over his first meeting as the new chairman.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
In theory, Powell will preside over his final interest-rate-setting meeting as Fed chair on April 28-29.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
A thousand frozen stars preside over the quad.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
King Mohammed VI, the 63-year-old monarch, appoints the prime minister from the political party that comes first in the election, but also presides over the Council of Ministers - the country's most important policy-making body.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Now he’s married with seven kids and presides over something of an online personal-finance empire that includes an app, books, workshops and social-media communities.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Consider the decision from the 6th Circuit, which incorporated Consumers’ Research into its reasoning, and which presides over Kentucky, home of the Kentucky Derby.
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2026
In Texas, the county judge presides over and votes in the county’s commissioner court, which handles county government administration.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
His aunt, Uma Maima, presides in the kitchen all morning, harassing the servants as they squat by the drain scouring the dirty dishes with ash, or pound heaps of spices on slabs that resemble tombstones.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
The hearing is where the debasement gets acknowledged, years late, under fluorescent lights, by the people who presided over it.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
When any side embarks on the sort of root and branch revolution the Italian presided over this summer, it is inevitable there will be teething problems and time required for understandings and relationships to form.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Walgren had presided earlier this year over the trial related to the 2018 killing at the same building.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Brian Fiore-Silfvast, who presided over the ceremony, wasn’t surprised.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
My father was an unofficial priest and presided over ritual slaughtering of goats and calves and officiated at local traditional rites concerning planting, harvest, birth, marriage, initiation ceremonies, and funerals.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
"The unauthorised use of a performer's voice... can be considered an infringement on publicity rights," said presiding judge Aya Takahashi.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The judge presiding over the case ordered a hearing on Wednesday, where both sides will argue why the charges should stand or be dismissed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Carrick was appointed head coach on a permanent basis with a two-year contract in May after presiding over 12 victories in 17 games when in temporary charge following Amorim's dismissal.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Global economic leaders are now presiding over rising anxiety in financial markets at a particularly lousy moment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Seven slash marks indicated his years of service - more than any presiding officer, including Reyna.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
