gov ‧ ern W3 /ˈɡʌvən $ -ərn/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ government , ↑ governor , ↑ governess , ↑ governorship ; adjective : ↑ governmental , ↑ governing , ↑ gubernatorial ; verb : ↑ govern ; adverb : governmentally]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: governer , from Latin gubernare , from Greek kybernan 'to control the direction of something' ]
1 . [intransitive and 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.