From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishregentre‧gent /ˈriːdʒənt/ noun [countable] PGsomeone who governs instead of a king or queen, because the king or queen is ill, absent, or still a child → regency —regent adjective [only after noun] the Prince Regent
Examples from the Corpus
regent• A regent assumes almost full powers.• Accepted first as regent, he was in 1037 recognised as king, and Emma went into exile.• One set of regents piles on top of another.• Most of the regents would not comment on the ruling Monday, saying the report spoke for itself.• Surprisingly, no one seemed interested in Sir John's meeting with the regent.• The regents were still unwilling to accept verdicts of such dubious historicity.• Oh, they had a little fun trapping regents going to the bathroom during the lunch break.Origin regent (1300-1400) Old French Latin, present participle of regere “to rule” 