Word family noun government governor governess governorship adjective governmental governing gubernatorial verb govern adverb governmentally
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgoverngov‧ern /ˈɡʌvən $ -ərn/ ●●○ W3 verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]GOVERENMENT to officially and legally control a country and make all the decisions about taxes, laws, public services etc SYN rule the leaders who govern the country The party had been governing for seven months.2 [transitive]CONTROL if rules, principles etc govern the way a system or situation works, they control how it happens legislation governing the export of live animals The universe is governed by the laws of physics.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
govern• The former chancellor questioned the prime minister's ability to govern.• London also will oversee laws governing abortion, human fertilization and genetics.• In the civil service, the relationship between the civil servant and the politician is partly governed by the need for confidentiality.• By 1922 the team of brilliant men who had governed for the past six years could not but see themselves as irreplaceable.• There is nothing in a methodology which determines the values governing its use.• The governing party controls two-thirds of the parliament.• Does it really matter what are the laws that govern the constituent elements of bodies and brains?• The PRI party has governed the country for more than seventy years.• Rules governing the distribution of legal drugs are likely to be changed.• At a cabinet meeting that day she announced stricter measures governing the use of cars in cities during peak pollution periods.From Longman Business Dictionarygoverngov‧ern /ˈgʌvən-ərn/ verb1[intransitive, transitive] to officially and legally run a country and make decisions about taxes, laws, public services etcthe politicians who govern the countryA small military elite has been governing for just seven months.2[transitive] if rules, principles etc govern the way a system or organization works, they control how things are doneLaw Society members are highly qualified and governed by a strict code of ethics.The current system governing credit card transactions in the UK goes against basic trading practices.→ See Verb tableOrigin govern (1200-1300) Old French governer, from Latin gubernare, from Greek kybernan “to control the direction of something” 