reign

American  

[reyn] / reɪn /

noun

1. the period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.

2. royal rule or authority; sovereignty.

   Synonyms:

   suzerainty, dominion

3. dominating power or influence.

   the reign of law.

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verb (used without object)

1. to possess or exercise sovereign power or authority.

   Synonyms:

   prevail, govern, rule

   Antonyms:

   obey

2. to hold the position and name of sovereign without exercising the ruling power.

3. to have control, rule, or influence of any kind.

4. to predominate; be prevalent.

reign British  

/ reɪn /

noun

1. the period during which a monarch is the official ruler of a country

2. a period during which a person or thing is dominant, influential, or powerful

   the reign of violence is over

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verb

1. to exercise the power and authority of a sovereign

2. to be accorded the rank and title of a sovereign without having ruling authority, as in a constitutional monarchy

3. to predominate; prevail

   a land where darkness reigns

4. (usually present participle) to be the most recent winner of a competition, contest, etc

   the reigning heavyweight champion

Usage

Reign is sometimes wrongly written for rein in certain phrases: he gave full rein (not reign ) to his feelings; it will be necessary to rein in (not reign in ) public spending

Other Word Forms

• interreign verb (used without object)
• nonreigning adjective
• outreign verb (used with object)
• unreigning adjective

Etymology

Origin of reign

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English noun reine, regne, from Old French reigne, from Latin regnum “realm, reign,” derivative of reg- (stem of rēx ) “king”; Middle English verb reinen, regnen, from Old French reignier, from Latin regnāre, derivative of regnum

Example Sentences

The clash lost some luster with Oklahoma City's reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headlining a raft of Thunder absentees as he missed a ninth straight game with an abdominal strain.

From Barron's

But the people didn’t come to see Messi or his team, Inter Miami, the reigning MLS champion.

From Los Angeles Times

The Guardian reported that under his reign the share of tenured positions offered to women fell from 36 percent to 13 percent.

From Salon

As if the challenge of facing the reigning world champions is not enough, the Springboks have regularly added opponents' acclimatisation to their home advantage.

From BBC

There is also the knowledge their first two games together were the defeats by Brighton and Brentford that started Ten Hag's reign.

From BBC

Related Words

• dominate
• govern
• hold sway
• occupy
• predominate