governor

American  

[guhv-er-ner, ‑uh-ner] / ˈgʌv ər nər, ‑ə nər /

noun

governors plural

1. the executive head of a state in the U.S.

2. a person charged with the direction or control of an institution, society, etc..

   the governors of a bank; the governor of a prison.

3. Also called governor general.  the representative of the crown, as in the Commonwealth of Nations.

4. a ruler or chief magistrate appointed to govern a province, town, fort, or the like.

5. Machinery. a device for maintaining uniform speed regardless of changes of load, as by regulating the supply of fuel or working fluid.

6. British Informal.

   1. one's father.

   2. one's employer.

   3. any man of superior rank or status.

---

governor British  

/ ˈɡʌvənə /

noun

1. a person who governs

2. the ruler or chief magistrate of a colony, province, etc

3. the representative of the Crown in a British colony

4. the senior administrator or head of a society, prison, etc

5. the chief executive of any state in the US

6. a device that controls the speed of an engine, esp by regulating the supply of fuel, etc, either to limit the maximum speed or to maintain a constant speed

7. Also called: head.  grammar

   1. a word in a phrase or clause that is the principal item and gives the function of the whole, as hat in the big red hat

   2. ( as modifier )

      a governor noun

8. informal a name or title of respect for a father, employer, etc

---

Pronunciation

In governor, the process of dissimilation—the tendency for neighboring like sounds to become unlike or for one of them to disappear entirely—commonly results in the loss of the first of , producing the pronunciation . This pronunciation is heard even in regions where postvocalic is not usually dropped. A further loss, of the medial unstressed vowel, results in . All three pronunciations are standard. See colonel, February, library.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subgovernor
  noun
• undergovernor
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• governors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of governor

1250–1300; Middle English governour < Old French governeor, gouverneur < Latin gubernātōrem, accusative of gubernātor, equivalent to gubernā(re) to steer, govern + -tor -tor

Explanation

A governor leads a state government, just like a president leads a national government. If you know that governing means to be in charge of something, that should help you remember what a governor is. Just as mayors run cities and presidents and prime ministers run countries, governors run states. A governor is elected for a term, has a vice governor, and deals with a legislature, just like the U.S. President. Governor is a very important title in the U.S., and many governors — such as Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush — have gone on to become U.S. presidents.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

governor governors

Senate, governor and attorney general — suggest lots of room for movement in the less than 12 weeks remaining until Oct.

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026

Senior Deputy Gov. Destry Damayanti will take over as acting BI governor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

In April 2025, the governor of Nigeria's embattled Borno state, Babagana Zulum, alleged that informants and collaborators for Boko Haram insurgents were operating within the country's armed forces, political class and local communities.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Mikie Sherrill became New Jersey’s new governor partly on a pledge to freeze electric rates after a 20% price spike.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

“This is unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected,” the governor says.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

As he starts his term as Fed chair, Warsh can’t count on the support of his fellow governors for his agenda, Bianco said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

And some of the bank's governors had already mooted a possible rates hike, she added.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Despite its preference for Democratic governors, Colorado was, until not that long ago, a competitive two-party state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

Juries deliberated and judges delivered sentences, some of which were commuted by the state’s governors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Presidents of corporations, state governors, movie stars — people he didn’t know but nonetheless understood to be lonely, and afraid of failure.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen