govern

Govern is defined as to control, guide or manage.

(verb)

An example of govern is a supervisor telling their employees what to do.

See govern in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb

to exercise authority over; rule, administer, direct, control, manage, etc.
to influence the action or conduct of; guide; sway: to govern public opinion
to hold in check; restrain; curb: to govern one's temper
to regulate the speed of (an automobile, etc.) by means of a governor
to be a rule or law for; determine: the scientific principles governing a phenomenon
Gram.: used as of prepositions with noun cases, esp. in highly inflected languages, and, in English, more loosely, of any interrelationship between forms, as that between a preposition and a following pronoun
1. to require (a word) to be in a certain case or mood
2. to require (a particular case or mood)

Origin: ME governen < OFr gouverner < L gubernare, to pilot (a ship), direct, guide < Gr kybernan, to steer, govern, prob. of non-IE orig.

intransitive verb

to exercise the function of governing; rule

Related Forms:

See govern in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb gov·erned, gov·ern·ing, gov·erns

verb, transitive

To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; exercise sovereign authority in.
To control the speed or magnitude of; regulate: a valve that governs fuel intake.
To control the actions or behavior of: Govern yourselves like civilized people.
To keep under control; restrain: a student who could not govern his impulses.
To exercise a deciding or determining influence on: Chance usually governs the outcome of the game.
Grammar To require (a specific morphological form) of accompanying words.

verb, intransitive