administer
Americanverb (used with object)
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to manage (affairs, a government, etc.); have executive charge of.
to administer the law.
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to bring into use or operation: to administer last rites.
to administer justice;
to administer last rites.
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to make application of; give.
to administer medicine.
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to supervise the formal taking of (an oath or the like).
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Law. to manage or dispose of, as a decedent's estate by an executor or administrator or a trust estate by a trustee.
verb (used without object)
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to contribute assistance; bring aid or supplies (usually followed byto ).
to administer to those in need of aid.
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to perform the duties of an administrator.
She administers quite effectively.
verb
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(also intr) to direct or control (the affairs of a business, government, etc)
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to put into execution; dispense
administer justice
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to give or apply (medicine, assistance, etc) as a remedy or relief
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to apply formally; perform
to administer extreme unction
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to supervise or impose the taking of (an oath, etc)
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to manage or distribute (an estate, property, etc)
Related Words
See rule.
Other Word Forms
- administrant noun
- nonadministrant adjective
- self-administered adjective
- self-administering adjective
- unadministered adjective
- well-administered adjective
Etymology
Origin of administer
First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin administrāre “to assist, carry out, manage the affairs of” ( ad-, minister ); replacing Middle English amynistre (with a- 5 ), from Middle French aministrer
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.
With his older brother John, he ran a school, having left a previous teaching post from a disinclination to administer corporal punishment.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
He revised his will to transfer all his wealth into a trust named after the year of his birth, which the lawyer and accountant would administer.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
Taxpayers can claim federal credits for donations to scholarship organizations, which can administer scholarships in states that opt in—at no state cost.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
Only then is a doctor authorized to administer the lethal drugs on the date and time the patient has chosen.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
“You are indeed in trouble. However, I believe I shall leave it to your parents to administer whatever discipline and reproach they believe to be needed. In the meantime, I need to dispose of this.”
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
