governor

[ guhv-er-ner, ‑uh-ner ]

noun

1. the executive head of a state in the U.S.
2. a person charged with the direction or control of an institution, society, etc.:

   the governors of a bank; the governor of a prison.

3. Also called governor general. the representative of the crown, as in the Commonwealth of Nations.
4. a ruler or chief magistrate appointed to govern a province, town, fort, or the like.
5. Machinery. a device for maintaining uniform speed regardless of changes of load, as by regulating the supply of fuel or working fluid.
6. British Informal.
   1. one's father.
   2. one's employer.
   3. any man of superior rank or status.

governor

/ ˈɡʌvənə /

noun

1. a person who governs
2. the ruler or chief magistrate of a colony, province, etc
3. the representative of the Crown in a British colony
4. the senior administrator or head of a society, prison, etc
5. the chief executive of any state in the US
6. a device that controls the speed of an engine, esp by regulating the supply of fuel, etc, either to limit the maximum speed or to maintain a constant speed
7. Also calledhead grammar
   1. a word in a phrase or clause that is the principal item and gives the function of the whole, as hat in the big red hat
   2. ( as modifier )

      a governor noun

8. informal.
   a name or title of respect for a father, employer, etc

Pronunciation Note

In governor, the process of dissimilation—the tendency for neighboring like sounds to become unlike or for one of them to disappear entirely—commonly results in the loss of the first [r] of [guhv, -er-ner], producing the pronunciation [guhv, -, uh, -ner]. This pronunciation is heard even in regions where postvocalic [r] is not usually dropped. A further loss, of the medial unstressed vowel, results in [guhv, -ner]. All three pronunciations are standard. See colonel, February, library.

Other Words From

• sub·gover·nor noun
• under·gover·nor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of governor¹

1250–1300; Middle English governour < Old French governeor, gouverneur < Latin gubernātōrem, accusative of gubernātor, equivalent to gubernā(re) to steer, govern + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

She does not have any evident experience related to border and customs enforcement, which is one of DHS’s main responsibilities, although as governor she has directed responses to natural disasters.

From Slate

The UK must "rebuild relations" with the EU "while respecting the decision of the British people" who voted to leave in 2016, the Bank of England's governor will say later.

From BBC

From the time he moved to remote Michigan, he brought the world to him, amassing thousands of books and corresponding with the savants who resonated the most — Garrett Hardin, the ecologist from University of California, Santa Barbara, and Richard Lamm, the environmentalist and three-term governor of Colorado, among them.

From Salon

Shortly after being announced as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Israel, the former Republican governor of Arkansas said: “I won't make the policy. I will carry out the policy of the president.”

From BBC

Corruption inside prisons is now "a greater problem than it has ever been," according to John Podmore, a former governor of several large prisons, including HMP Belmarsh and HMP Brixton, both in London.

From BBC