governgov‧ern /ˈɡʌvən $ -ərn/ ●●○ W3 verb 
Word Origin Examples
the leaders who govern the country The party had been governing for seven months.2[transitive] 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.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINgovern
Verb TableOrigin:
1200-1300 Old French governer, from Latin gubernare, from Greek kybernan ‘to control the direction of something’VERB TABLE
govern
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | govern |
| he, she, it | governs | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | governed |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have governed |
| he, she, it | has governed | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had governed |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will govern |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have governed |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am governing |
| he, she, it | is governing | |
| you, we, they | are governing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was governing |
| you, we, they | were governing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been governing |
| he, she, it | has been governing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been governing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be governing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been governing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Rules governing the distribution of legal drugs are likely to be changed.
- The governing party controls two-thirds of the parliament.
- The former chancellor questioned the prime minister's ability to govern.
- The PRI party has governed the country for more than seventy years.
- At a cabinet meeting that day she announced stricter measures governing the use of cars in cities during peak pollution periods.
- By 1922 the team of brilliant men who had governed for the past six years could not but see themselves as irreplaceable.
- Does it really matter what are the laws that govern the constituent elements of bodies and brains?
- In the civil service, the relationship between the civil servant and the politician is partly governed by the need for confidentiality.
- London also will oversee laws governing abortion, human fertilization and genetics.
- There is nothing in a methodology which determines the values governing its use.
Longman Language Activatorto govern a country► govern
Collocations if a political party or group governs a country, its members make all the important decisions about laws, taxes, relationships with other countries etc: · The former Chancellor questioned the Prime Minister's ability to govern.· The PRI party has governed the country for more than seventy years.governing party (=the political party that is governing a country): · The governing party controls two-thirds of the parliament.
► run to control a country - use this also about a powerful person or group that controls a country but has not been elected: · Who's running this country, the government or the trade unions?· The revolutionary council ran the country until democratic elections were held.· The country is being run by an interim prime minister, Jean-Claude Cousin.
► rule if a king, queen, military leader, or a foreign government rules a country, they have official power over it: · Marcos ruled the Philippines for 20 years.· India was ruled by the British for a very long time.
► be in power if a political party or a leader is in power at a particular time, they are the government or leader of a country at that time: · Castro has been in power for more than 30 years.· Taxes were higher when the Democrats were in power.
► be in government especially British if a political party is in government , it has been elected to govern the country: · The Liberal Democrats have been in government for five years now.· He thought it unlikely that the Republican party would be in government for much longer.
► hold office to have an important job in a government, for example as its leader or as head of a government department: · Jemison had previously held office as Minister of Education.· In Mexico, the president holds office for a fixed term of six years.· People convicted of certain criminal offenses are not allowed to hold office.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► the ruling/governing coalition
Word family· The March elections may weaken the ruling coalition.
► run/govern the country (=officially control a country)· The government has the job of running the country.
► regulations govern something (=apply to something)· There are regulations governing the safety of toys.
► the rules concerning/governing/relating to something formal (=the rules about something)· the rules governing food labeling
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► action· Zeno believed that people could govern their actions without the need for external compulsion.· They will not hesitate to shift their ties and change the relations that governed their actions in the past period.· All the pantheistic religions of the world have a deity represented by the Moon or governing its actions.· Eventually we must try to decide whether even these theories are rich enough to govern the actions of our brains and minds.· Everyone will try to guess the state of the market and to govern his actions accordingly.· The interests of the shareholders become an objective standard to govern the actions of the directors.
► behaviour· The ephemeral nature of fluid flow belies the rigid rules which govern its behaviour.· Newton gave three laws governing the behaviour of material objects.· And from this stems the origin of ethical systems governing behaviour.· The next day, there they were, governing the behaviour of electrons and atoms.· The alcohol is now affecting her balance and slowing the brain cells governing learned social behaviour and inhibitions.· In this model the top level represents strategic information used to govern the long-term behaviour of the organisation.
► city· Its contents are governed primarily by the City Code.
► conduct· The rules which govern the conduct of the business of the council and its committees are called Standing Orders.· As for the rules of the school governing student conduct and behavior, work-inhibited students do not need special exceptions.· The principles of fair procedure which govern the conduct of disciplinary hearings also apply, by and large, to appeal hearings.· It is not a blind law, for no blind law can govern the conduct of human beings....· The principal legislation governing the conduct of insurance business is the Insurance Companies Act 1982.· There is always considerable negotiation over the provisions governing the conduct of the business between signing and completion.· Section 4 considers the auditor's role in relation to an investment business's compliance with the rules governing its conduct.
► contract· B also suggested that its own terms should govern the contract.· The question which then arises is which set of terms govern the contract.· The Act also governs a contract purely for services, such as a contract for a haircut.
► convention· However, this argument depends too much on the conventions governing ordinary usage.· Its exercise depends very much on the conventions governing consular relations between the states concerned.· Literary essays typically follow a simple set of conventions governing the presentation of quotations.· A further illustration of this is to be found in the conventions governing spelling.· The structuralist brief, then, is to map out the conventions and rules governing all aspects of social behaviour.
► country· The interim government is not governing that country and does not exercise administrative or any control over its territory and population.· How do you plan to work with Congress to govern the country?· He wanted to contribute actively to governing the country once more and have influence in policy making.
► factor· This, it is said, is the key factor governing the doctor-patient relationship.· The major factors governing the use of wind generators are as follows.
► law· The law governing corners had been amended earlier in the year to allow such goals.· Just three years into his formal career as a choreographer, Alvin was discovering the law that would govern his entire career.· For example, we already know the physical laws that govern everything that we experience in everyday life.· The council passed the law governing liquor outlets Oct. 31, 1995.· He also announced liberal reforms including greater press freedom and the abolition of laws governing subversion.· The voters' elected representatives just might want a say in the proposed changes to state law governing education.· Does it really matter what are the laws that govern the constituent elements of bodies and brains?
► legislation· One of their main demands is for a greater say in policy-making and legislation governing Northern Ireland.· Kopp, the author of the 1991 legislation governing the Central Freeway, contends passage of Prop.· Plans for the May 4 poll are clouded because the House of Lords has rejected the government legislation governing election expenses.· The beginning of the year saw the introduction of new legislation governing the manual handling of goods and materials.· The principal legislation governing the conduct of insurance business is the Insurance Companies Act 1982.· The Institute's main concern is that the new entities should be expressly subject to national legislation governing the activity undertaken.· This labour legislation included laws governing female and child labour, improvements in working conditions and social security provisions.· The units comply fully with the latest Food Hygiene legislation governing the temperature conditions for the storage and display of food.
► life· Individually we are very much the same, but the circumstances that govern our lives might be quite different.· But nor is letting your conscience govern my life.· Change the institutional imperatives that govern their lives and they will change.
► party· Mengistu is general secretary of the party, which is governed by an 11-member political bureau.· Party systems are generally classified according to the number of political parties and the interactions among the parties in the governing process.· As the figures show, Conservative supporters are keenest that their party should govern on its own.· There are three options facing a party attempting to govern without an overall majority.
► principle· So far as the security of the state was concerned, two principles were stated to govern the granting of warrants.· It therefore presupposes a principle which should govern its activities.· Article Five set out a number of principles governing the two states' foreign policies.· What pragmatic principles govern lexical acquisition?· The Authority set out new principles governing ownership.· Here, the scheme is to discuss the principles which govern the relationship between solicitors and their firms with their clients.· The focus here has been on Conventionality and Contrast, two pragmatic principles that together govern the lexicon.
► procedure· The principles of fair procedure which govern the conduct of disciplinary hearings also apply, by and large, to appeal hearings.· The regulatory procedures, which will govern oil to coal conversion, are still a matter of uncertainty.· He stresses the importance of establishing rules and procedures that will govern unit-school relations.· Formal committees have rules of procedure which govern the way in which the meeting operates.
► process· This electoral process provides both the president and the legislature with independent mandates to represent the citizens in the governing process.· The youngest, the neocortex, governs our rational thinking processes.· Party systems are generally classified according to the number of political parties and the interactions among the parties in the governing process.· The above trends govern the technology transfer process by making certain types of technologies available to well behaved states.· For it is the most general parameter which governs the processes of temporal change that constitute laws of nature.
► regulation· The problem lies with the interpretation of the regulations governing the safety of toys.· Article 9 reviewed the rules and regulations that governed the operation of the leprosarium.· They are expected to halve pollution caused by large commercial vehicles, bringing them into line with regulations governing car exhaust emissions.· As in other aspects of police life, detailed regulations governed the minutiae of dress.· So just what are the rules, regulations and guidelines governing the depositing of skips on the public highway?· No regulations governed the hunt - anyone with a rifle and a boat could kill dolphins without a licence.· It also prescribed new regulations governing tender offers.· The regulations governing the investigation of aircraft accidents had been unchanged since 1969.
► relationship· This, it is said, is the key factor governing the doctor-patient relationship.· This act sets rules of conduct to govern producers in their relationships with consumers.· Here, the scheme is to discuss the principles which govern the relationship between solicitors and their firms with their clients.· The report also notes the confused assumptions that governed the relationship between Kimmel and Short.
► rule· The ephemeral nature of fluid flow belies the rigid rules which govern its behaviour.· These are the rules that govern all bonds.· The sale agreement should contain a detailed set of rules governing preparation and agreement of the completion accounts.· The rules governing the operation of military housing covered 800 pages.· It also sets out the rules governing quota transfer and leasing together with the treatment of quota which is not used.· Stone cut the rules governing military base construction from 400 pages down to 4, those governing housing from 800 to 40.· Somebody called to suggest an amendment to the rules governing the sponsorship.· This act sets rules of conduct to govern producers in their relationships with consumers.
► state· For if a sovereign ruler acknowledged no political superior, was this not also true of the state he governed?· Cervera claims the fight is about the rights of states to govern without federal courts intruding.· The voters' elected representatives just might want a say in the proposed changes to state law governing education.
► use· There is nothing in a methodology which determines the values governing its use.· At a cabinet meeting that day she announced stricter measures governing the use of cars in cities during peak pollution periods.· He is held personally responsible for complying with the many rules and regulations that govern its use.· The rules governing the use of seh are different from those which apply to that.· That outcome of the long process of evolution which will enable them to govern the uses of their own physical mechanisms.· The major factors governing the use of wind generators are as follows.· But laws governing the sale, use and licensing of firearms remain the province of the states.· Without ceasing to be a sign, this sign nevertheless governs our use and interpretation of all signs.
WORD FAMILYnoungovernmentgovernorgovernessgovernorshipadjectivegovernmentalgoverninggubernatorialverbgovernadverbgovernmentally
1[intransitive, transitive] 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] 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.