preside

[ pri-zahyd ]

/ prɪˈzaɪd /

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See synonyms for: preside / presiding on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), pre·sid·ed, pre·sid·ing.

to occupy the place of authority or control, as in an assembly or meeting; act as president or chairperson.

to exercise management or control (usually followed by over): The lawyer presided over the estate.

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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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 sit¹

OTHER WORDS FROM preside

pre·sid·er, nounun·pre·sid·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use preside in a sentence

At a protest rally in May, just steps away from where he presides over family court, Grendell proclaimed that public health restrictions to contain the pandemic were unconstitutional and “we should be allowed to get back to our lives.”
The Family Court Judge Who Threatened a Mother With Contempt of Court for Getting Her Child a COVID-19 Test|by Marshall Allen, ProPublica, and Rachel Dissell for ProPublica|December 18, 2020|ProPublica
He presided over a case high-profile hearing this summer involving a speedway fighting shutdown orders, which was live-streamed.
A North Carolina judge is blocking journalists from his courtroom. One objected — and got handcuffed.|Elahe Izadi, Mark Berman|December 11, 2020|Washington Post
Patsy Thompson, a career officer in the Army National Guard who was directed to preside over a military review board hearing in July 1991 that deliberated over whether Cammermeyer should be discharged on grounds of homosexuality.
Film to mark 10th anniversary of ‘DADT ’repeal|Lou Chibbaro Jr.|December 9, 2020|Washington Blade
Over 23 years he rose from field correspondent to the face of Fox’s news operation, anchoring almost every major breaking story and at one point presiding over two daily news shows.
Shepard Smith was a big catch for CNBC. But the viewers haven’t followed him from Fox.|Paul Farhi|December 3, 2020|Washington Post

Pai also presided over the successful merger of Sprint and T-Mobile last year, frustrating critics who felt the agency should not have allowed the country’s third and fourth largest wireless providers to combine.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to leave agency next year|Tony Romm|November 30, 2020|Washington Post
And your precious Josip Pekic, your expediter, has removed him from his position as supreme presider of agriculture in Bosnatia.
Expediter|Dallas McCord Reynolds
Mars was the presider over gladiators, and was the god of all exercises, which have in them a manly or spirited character.
Heathen Mythology|Various

British Dictionary definitions for preside

preside

/ (prɪˈzaɪd) /

verb (intr)

to sit in or hold a position of authority, as over a meeting

to exercise authority; control

to occupy a position as an instrumentalisthe presided at the organ

Derived forms of preside

presider, noun

Word Origin for preside

C17: via French from Latin praesidēre to superintend, from prae before + sedēre to sit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

preside

Origin of preside

OTHER WORDS FROM preside

Words related to preside

How to use preside in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for preside

Derived forms of preside

Word Origin for preside