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:
But as endless deficits spook the bond market, we need to curtail the reign of hot checks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
He remains convinced that his aggressive style of play and so-called vertical football will "work anywhere", even if this team is clearly still a work in progress at such an early stage of his reign.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
No, it’s not a deep dive into Tomlin’s 19 years as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a reign that produced a Super Bowl title, zero losing seasons and a 193-114-2 overall record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Before Kao’s doomed reign as CEO, Navatek was a sleepy Hawaiian engineering company with a few dozen employees.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
“If perfection were possible, which type would reign? Moral perfection? Mental perfection? Would the smarter man win, or the stronger? The dark-skinned or light-skinned? Would the winner be the most beautiful?”
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Egotism reigns in our modern world, and only those brave enough to stand up to it can impede its rule.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
The problem is that the AKL lists no king by that name between the reigns of Tukultī-Ninurta I and Tukultī-Ninurta II.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
But the poll noted that Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, had higher favorability ratings among American Catholics during the same time in their respective reigns — 90% to Leo’s 75%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
It became one of the longest chart reigns of all time in the UK where it sold more than 1.9 million copies.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Japan’s Emperor Akihito, who reigns today, is the 82nd direct descendant of the emperor under whom that first chronicle of A.D.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
But expressions turned to anxiety and caution reigned, as the vote count progressed and the left-wing bloc's lead began to shrink.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
Astrid was the last surviving child of King Olav V, who reigned from 1957 to 1991.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
There’s no more fitting description of a documentary that’s cobbled together from the dying gasps of ’90s fashion culture, when glamor and mischief reigned supreme.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
With the exception of the liberalizing Alexander II, who reigned from 1855 to 1881, that gives the Romanovs too much credit, but the path was plausible enough.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Madam reigned over her end of the table with the occasional flutter of her fan, the wave of hair above her brow threatening to crash at any moment.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
But through four games, this has not otherwise been a prodigious start for the reigning NFL most valuable player and future Hall of Famer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, has been sidelined since undergoing left knee surgery after the Rams’ season-opening defeat by the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
The company will change its name to MSG Knickerbockers Corp., which will span both the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks and the Westchester Knicks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
The Sri Lankans will meet reigning champions India and Bangladesh play Pakistan, with both semi-finals scheduled for Thursday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
“I wanted to get back to this question of reigning in hell being better than serving in heaven.”
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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.
