What does "manage" mean?

1. (to lead a business or team) to be in charge of a business, a shop, or a group of people at work. 2. (to handle a situation or resource) to control or deal with something like time, money, or a difficult problem. 3. (to succeed despite difficulty) to be able to do something even though it is difficult or you are tired. 4. (to cope without help) to deal with a situation alone without needing extra help. 5. (to produce a small reaction) to produce a small smile or a few words when you are feeling upset or embarrassed.

How do you use "manage"?

Often used with 'to' followed by an infinitive verb. Often used intransitively to describe a person's general state of coping.

manage — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "I managed finishing the report on time."?

No — say "I managed to finish the report on time.". When 'manage' means to succeed in doing something, it must be followed by 'to' and the infinitive, not the -ing form.

Word

01to lead a business or team

A2 · Elementary

v. to be in charge of a business, a shop, or a group of people at work.

v. to exercise executive, administrative, or supervisory control over an organisation, department, or team.

“She was promoted last year and now manages a team of ten people.”

“After years of working in the kitchen, he was finally appointed to manage the entire restaurant operation, including staffing and procurement.”

Synonyms

run direct supervise

Antonyms

follow obey

02to handle a situation or resource

B1 · Intermediate

v. to control or deal with something like time, money, or a difficult problem.

v. to handle, monitor, or influence the use of resources or the progression of a specific situation.

“It can be hard to manage your time when you have many different projects.”

“The financial advisor helped the family manage their investments more effectively during the period of market volatility.”

Synonyms

handle control administer

Antonyms

neglectmismanage

03to succeed despite difficulty

A2 · Elementary

v. to be able to do something even though it is difficult or you are tired.

v. to succeed in accomplishing a task or surviving a situation despite obstacles or limited means.

“I was very tired, but I managed to finish my homework before bed.”

“Despite the heavy snow and the late hour, the hikers managed to reach the mountain shelter before the storm intensified.”

Usage

Often used with 'to' followed by an infinitive verb.

Pitfall

I managed finishing the report on time.

I managed to finish the report on time.

When 'manage' means to succeed in doing something, it must be followed by 'to' and the infinitive, not the -ing form.

Synonyms

cope achieve survive

Antonyms

fail

04to cope without help

B1 · Intermediate

v. to deal with a situation alone without needing extra help.

v. to function or carry on sufficiently without external assistance or additional resources.

“Don't worry about me; I can manage on my own for a few days.”

“The elderly woman insisted she could manage in her own home, provided the social workers visited twice a week to assist with heavy chores.”

Usage

Often used intransitively to describe a person's general state of coping.

Synonyms

get by cope fare

05to produce a small reaction

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to produce a small smile or a few words when you are feeling upset or embarrassed.

v. to produce a specific verbal or facial expression with visible effort, often while suppressed by emotion.

“He was very sad, but he managed a small smile for his friends.”

“Exhausted by the long interrogation, the witness could only manage a few whispered words in response to the lawyer's final question.”

Synonyms

muster produce

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “manage” in context.

01. successfully manage

“Would you like to be managed by someone who doesn’t lead? That could be awfully discouraging. Well then, why would you want to be led by someone who doesn’t manage: They wouldn’t know what’s going on.”

The Globe and Mail 1 Oct 2026

“Nevertheless, this can be managed. A good agentic AI should simply reduce the time a manager must spend on assembling the information, and instead increase the time they spend making judgement calls and addressing issues that matter most.”

foodnavigator.com 1 Oct 2026

“Zach Stauber’s day begins before the first customer support ticket even lands in the queue. Stauber, a support agent manager at Salesforce, a global company that provides businesses with a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, manages a fleet of generative AI support agents across support, sales, and marketing on a platform the company calls Agentforce.”

hbr.org 12 Feb 2026

“You’re managing more people than ever with far less support.”

hbr.org 3 Oct 2025

From Early Modern English manage, menage, from Middle English manage, menage, from Old French manege (“the handling or training of a horse, horsemanship, riding, maneuvers, proceedings”), probably from Old Italian maneggiare (“to handle, manage, touch, treat”), from Vulgar Latin *manizāre (“handle”), from Latin manus (“hand”) + -izāre (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of manège. Compare typologically English handle; Russian руководи́ть (rukovodítʹ) (< рука́ (ruká)).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

handle control direct Cope supervise

failmismanage

VERB

manage(A2)

NOUN

ADJECTIVE