Definitions for govern
ˈgʌv ərngov·ern

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. regulate, regularize, regularise, order, govern(verb)

   bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations

   "We cannot regulate the way people dress"; "This town likes to regulate"

2. govern(verb)

   direct or strongly influence the behavior of

   "His belief in God governs his conduct"

3. govern, rule(verb)

   exercise authority over; as of nations

   "Who is governing the country now?"

4. govern(verb)

   require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood

   "most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German"

Wiktionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. govern(Verb)

   To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority in.

2. govern(Verb)

   To control the actions or behavior of; to keep under control; to restrain.

3. govern(Verb)

   To exercise a deciding or determining influence on.

   Chance usually governs the outcome of the game.

4. govern(Verb)

   To control the speed, flow etc. of; to regulate.

   a valve that governs fuel intake.

5. govern(Verb)

   To exercise political authority; to run a government.

6. govern(Verb)

   To have or exercise a determining influence.

7. govern(Verb)

   To require that a certain preposition, grammatical case, etc. be used with a word; sometimes used synonymously with collocate.

Origin: and governer, guberno, from κυβερνάω

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Govern(verb)

   to direct and control, as the actions or conduct of men, either by established laws or by arbitrary will; to regulate by authority

2. Govern(verb)

   to regulate; to influence; to direct; to restrain; to manage; as, to govern the life; to govern a horse

3. Govern(verb)

   to require to be in a particular case; as, a transitive verb governs a noun in the objective case; or to require (a particular case); as, a transitive verb governs the objective case

4. Govern(verb)

   to exercise authority; to administer the laws; to have the control

Origin: [OF. governer, F. gouverner, fr. L. gubernare to steer, pilot, govern, Gr. kyberna^n. Cf. Gubernatorial.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Govern

   guv′ėrn, v.t. to direct: to control: to rule with authority: (gram.) to determine the mood, tense, or case of.—v.i. to exercise authority: to administer the laws.—adj. Gov′ernable.—ns. Gov′ernall (Spens.), government; Gov′ernance, government: control: direction: behaviour; Governante (guv-ėr-nant′, or guv′-), a governess (obs.); Gov′erness, a lady who has charge of the instruction of young ladies: a tutoress (Daily-governess, one who goes every day to her pupils' house; Nursery-, having charge of young children only, tending as well as teaching them; Resident-, living in the family of her pupils).—v.i. to act as governess.—n. Gov′erness-cart, a light two-wheeled vehicle with two face-to-face seats at the sides only.—adj. Gov′erning, having control.—n. Gov′ernment, a ruling or managing: control: system of governing: the body of persons authorised to administer the laws, or to govern a state: the territory over which sovereign power extends: (gram.) the power of one word in determining the form of another: (Shak.) conduct.—adj. of or pursued by government.—adj. Government′al, pertaining to or sanctioned by government.—ns. Gov′ernor, a ruler: one invested with supreme authority: a tutor: (slang) a father or master: (mach.) a regulator, or contrivance for maintaining uniform velocity with a varying resistance: (B.) a pilot; Gov′ernor-gen′eral, the supreme governor in a country: a viceroy; Gov′ernorship.—Governmental theory (see Grotian). [O. Fr. governer—L. gubernāre—Gr. kybernan.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. govern

   The govern symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the govern symbol and its characteristic.

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'govern' in Verbs Frequency: #622

How to pronounce govern?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say govern in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of govern in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of govern in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of govern in a Sentence

1. Mario M Cuomo:

   You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.

2. Golda Meir:

   I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.

3. Charles De Gaulle:

   To govern is always to choose among disadvantages.

4. Napoleon Bonaparte:

   Incidents should not govern policy; but, policy incidents.

5. Ali Akbar Velayati:

   We will not allow liberals and communists to govern in Iraq.

Images & Illustrations of govern

Popularity rank by frequency of use