reign
Americannoun
-
reigns
plural
-
the period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.
-
royal rule or authority; sovereignty.
- Synonyms:
- suzerainty, dominion
-
dominating power or influence.
the reign of law.
verb (used without object)
-
reigns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reigned,
past participle, past
-
reigning
present participle
noun
-
the period during which a monarch is the official ruler of a country
-
a period during which a person or thing is dominant, influential, or powerful
the reign of violence is over
verb
-
to exercise the power and authority of a sovereign
-
to be accorded the rank and title of a sovereign without having ruling authority, as in a constitutional monarchy
-
to predominate; prevail
a land where darkness reigns
-
(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
Derived Forms
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outreignverb (used with object)
-
interreignverb (used without object)
-
nonreigningadjective
-
unreigningadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reignsimple
-
reignssimple
-
have reignedperfect
-
has reignedperfect
-
am reigningprogressive
-
are reigningprogressive
-
is reigningprogressive
-
have been reigningperfect progressive
-
has been reigningperfect progressive
Past
-
reignedsimple
-
had reignedperfect
-
was reigningprogressive
-
were reigningprogressive
-
had been reigningperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
Rain falls from above, and people who reign rule from a position above others. They reign over countries and governments, and even over businesses and arts, as in "She used to reign over punk music, always topping the charts." While reign is a verb when it refers to the actions of a person or group of people, the period of time when they reign is also called a reign, as a noun: "His reign over the rodeo circuit ended when he was tackled by a bull named Princess-Maker." Sometimes a stretch of time is called a reign, even without regard to who was the leader, as in a "reign of peace," or a period of time without war and conflict, in a place or government.
Vocabulary lists containing reign
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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:
For the most part, the batters were happy to roll up their sleeves, another encouraging sign early in Root's second reign.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The art of fine carpet weaving was introduced in the Himalayan valley of Kashmir in the 15th century by Persian travellers, and received patronage during the reign of its last local king Zain-ul-Abidin Budshah.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
If you joined the party during the reign of the Twilight Singers, this won’t sound drastically different; if you ignored the Twilight Singers but were waiting to relive “Gentlemen,” too bad.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Xabi Alonso began his Stamford Bridge reign with an entertaining 3-2 Premier League win at west London rivals Fulham on Monday - and their new-look front three stole the show.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Apparently, the end of Snow’s reign didn’t equal the end of his terror.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Alexander Johannes Edmonds and Eckart Frahm identify three rulers who do not appear on the list but whose reigns can be reconstructed from other surviving evidence.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
In an era when divisiveness reigns and everything seems to be designed to keep us at each other’s throats, Byrd makes camaraderie look as simple as it is.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
But Katherine LaNasa’s Nurse Dana still reigns supreme and has enough screen time this season where she could have gone lead and possibly won.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
Ahead of the trip, Palace sources said the King could play a unique role in supporting a UK and US partnership that had "survived many presidencies and of course many reigns".
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Freddie reigns in this room—I can see that.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
And for years, “Sgt. Pepper” reigned supreme, routinely topping “best of” lists as the finest album ever recorded.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Friday and Sunday evenings, Stravinsky, who reigned over the festival in the 1950s, and Schoenberg had pride of place as the two pillars of midcentury 20th century music in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
Although Skyrizi and Rinvoq lead the portfolio today, the segment was previously anchored by Humira—an anti-inflammatory drug that reigned as the industry’s most valuable medicine for half a decade.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
The co-hosts were comfortably leading Paraguay 3-0 when confusion reigned in the Group D game.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
“At this period of history, man began to learn more about his environment—” Suddenly, pandemonium reigned.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
While former undisputed super-bantamweight champion Ellie Scotney has moved up to featherweight and is targeting Serrano, the reigning champion remains focused on her exit strategy.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Fornaroli is the reigning F2 champion, and won F3 the previous season.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
During the offseason, the Rams added All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, cornerback Jaylen Watson and defensive end Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
On offense, the Rams boast reigning MVP Matthew Stafford at quarterback along with star wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The “you” and “I” of the speech situation have been gathered into the first person plural: “we” are making war on “our grand foe” who “sole reigning holds the tyranny of heaven. ”
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
