preside
verb (used without object)
to occupy the place of authority or control, as in an assembly or meeting; act as president or chairperson.
were presiding
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past progressiveof preside.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Three judges were presiding over the court in Krasnogorsk near Moscow, while Griner was taking part via video link from a detention centre in the town of Novoye Grishino, just outside Moscow.
From Reuters ● Oct. 25, 2022
By June, Mr. Shchurko and Mr. Metelskiy were presiding over mountains of foam core boards and reams of plastic film that filled the lobby of a university library: humanitarian aid of a more cultural kind.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2022
“It would be as if a trial judge were presiding at a jury trial at which the jury always had the ability to overrule him by a vote of seven to five,” Professor Bowman said.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2020
The paralysis has been extraordinary, not least because of May’s insistence upon behaving as if she were presiding over a functioning body, rather than one undergoing an unprecedented disintegration.
From The New Yorker ● May 24, 2019
Some were sprawled on the beds, one was seated on the floor, and another two were presiding over the concoction simmering on a tiny, smoky kerosene stove.
From Have We No Rights? A frank discussion of the "rights" of missionaries by Mabel Williamson
