reign
Americannoun
-
reigns
plural
-
the period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.
-
royal rule or authority; sovereignty.
- Synonyms:
- suzerainty, dominion
-
dominating power or influence.
the reign of law.
verb (used without object)
-
reigns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reigned,
past participle, past
-
reigning
present participle
noun
-
the period during which a monarch is the official ruler of a country
-
a period during which a person or thing is dominant, influential, or powerful
the reign of violence is over
verb
-
to exercise the power and authority of a sovereign
-
to be accorded the rank and title of a sovereign without having ruling authority, as in a constitutional monarchy
-
to predominate; prevail
a land where darkness reigns
-
(usually present participle) to be the most recent winner of a competition, contest, etc
the reigning heavyweight champion
Usage
Reign is sometimes wrongly written for rein in certain phrases: he gave full rein (not reign ) to his feelings; it will be necessary to rein in (not reign in ) public spending
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
outreignverb (used with object)
-
interreignverb (used without object)
-
nonreigningadjective
-
unreigningadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reignsimple
-
reignssimple
-
have reignedperfect
-
has reignedperfect
-
am reigningprogressive
-
are reigningprogressive
-
is reigningprogressive
-
have been reigningperfect progressive
-
has been reigningperfect progressive
Past
-
reignedsimple
-
had reignedperfect
-
was reigningprogressive
-
were reigningprogressive
-
had been reigningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reign
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English noun reine, regne, from Old French reigne, from Latin regnum “realm, reign,” derivative of reg- (stem of rēx ) “king”; Middle English verb reinen, regnen, from Old French reignier, from Latin regnāre, derivative of regnum
Explanation
Rain falls from above, and people who reign rule from a position above others. They reign over countries and governments, and even over businesses and arts, as in "She used to reign over punk music, always topping the charts." While reign is a verb when it refers to the actions of a person or group of people, the period of time when they reign is also called a reign, as a noun: "His reign over the rodeo circuit ended when he was tackled by a bull named Princess-Maker." Sometimes a stretch of time is called a reign, even without regard to who was the leader, as in a "reign of peace," or a period of time without war and conflict, in a place or government.
Vocabulary lists containing reign
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is an old adage in baseball that good pitching beats good hitting—which is especially true in October, when fastball velocities climb and aces reign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Years later the Queen's former private secretary, the late Lord Charteris, said he felt he had given her poor advice and that it was the biggest regret of her reign.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Pulitzer winner Hernan Diaz returns with ‘Ply,’ an ambitious, science-fiction leap into a fallen metropolis where art and anarchy reign.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
“After me, the deluge,” he is supposed to have said, a warning of what would happen once his reign ended.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
If that were so, the reign of the cyclotron as sciences most powerful and effective atom smasher might be a brief one.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Since then, however, that patience seems to be wearing thin, with the average length of managerial reigns steadily plummeting.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Egotism reigns in our modern world, and only those brave enough to stand up to it can impede its rule.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Chaos reigns in “Your Mother,” and not just with Latif’s fraught attempts to secure breast milk, which are portrayed as either comedic or dramatic depending on the scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The problem is that the AKL lists no king by that name between the reigns of Tukultī-Ninurta I and Tukultī-Ninurta II.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
The brevity of the reigns of the popes was the cause.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Clarke earned four Emmy nominations during “Game of Thrones’” run for portraying Daenerys Targaryen, one of the last surviving members of the family that long reigned over Westeros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
And for years, “Sgt. Pepper” reigned supreme, routinely topping “best of” lists as the finest album ever recorded.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Although Skyrizi and Rinvoq lead the portfolio today, the segment was previously anchored by Humira—an anti-inflammatory drug that reigned as the industry’s most valuable medicine for half a decade.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
The co-hosts were comfortably leading Paraguay 3-0 when confusion reigned in the Group D game.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Madam reigned over her end of the table with the occasional flutter of her fan, the wave of hair above her brow threatening to crash at any moment.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
They beat Wales 70-6 in their opener, but were thrashed 78-0 by reigning champions Australia in Perth last weekend.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Even Major League Baseball is embracing it, posting the lyrics in all caps from its official X account during the Brewers’ sweep of the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
After seven games, they sit third on 16 points behind reigning champions Arsenal and table-toppers Manchester City, who have a 100% record.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
On offense, they boasted reigning MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford along with star receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
He proved to be fully up to the challenge, reigning as the star of two front-page articles in the New York Times and a prominent feature in Time magazine.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
