# govern

/ˈɡəvɝn/ (US) · /ɡˈʌvən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/govern
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to rule a country

verb · CEFR B2

to officially run a country, city, or organization and make its laws.

For teachers: to exercise sovereign authority or administer public policy for a state, organization, or people.

- The country is governed by a group of elected officials who meet every week.
- The coalition government struggled to govern effectively while facing constant internal disagreements over economic policy.

Usage: Often used in the passive voice when describing how a country is led.

### 2. to influence or control

verb · CEFR B2

to have a strong influence on how something happens or how someone behaves.

For teachers: to exercise a deciding or determining influence on an outcome, behavior, or process.

- Common sense should govern your decisions when you are traveling alone.
- The laws of physics govern the movement of the planets around the sun.

Usage: Frequently used with abstract subjects like 'laws', 'rules', or 'principles'.

### 3. to restrain

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to keep your feelings or behavior under control.

For teachers: to restrain or control one's actions, emotions, or impulses.

- You must learn to govern your temper if you want to succeed in this job.
- He found it increasingly difficult to govern his mounting frustration during the long and repetitive meeting.

### 4. grammar

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical · Academic

in grammar, when a word makes you use a specific form or ending for another word.

For teachers: to require that a following word take a specific grammatical case, mood, or preposition.

- In this sentence, the preposition 'with' is governed by the verb.
- In many inflected languages, the choice of preposition directly governs the case of the following noun phrase.

Usage: Used specifically in linguistic and grammatical analysis.

## Examples

- The elected council will govern the city for four years.
- Strict safety regulations govern how the factory handles chemical waste to protect the local environment.
- In many languages, specific prepositions govern the case of the following noun, necessitating a change in the word's ending to reflect its grammatical role.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.