governor

[ guhv-er-ner, ‐uh-ner ]
See synonyms for governor on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. Also called governor general. the representative of the crown, as in the Commonwealth of Nations.

  2. a ruler or chief magistrate appointed to govern a province, town, fort, or the like.

  3. Machinery. a device for maintaining uniform speed regardless of changes of load, as by regulating the supply of fuel or working fluid.

  4. British Informal.

    • one's father.

    • one's employer.

    • any man of superior rank or status.

Origin of governor

1
1250–1300; Middle English governour <Old French governeor, gouverneur <Latin gubernātōrem, accusative of gubernātor, equivalent to gubernā(re) to steer, govern + -tor -tor

pronunciation note For governor

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] /r/ of [guhv-er-ner], /ˈgʌv ər nər/, producing the pronunciation [guhv-uh-ner]. /ˈgʌv ə nər/. This pronunciation is heard even in regions where postvocalic [r] /r/ is not usually dropped. A further loss, of the medial unstressed vowel, results in [guhv-ner]. /ˈgʌv nər/. All three pronunciations are standard. See colonel, February, library.

Other words from governor

  • sub·gov·er·nor, noun
  • un·der·gov·er·nor, noun

Words Nearby governor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use governor in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for governor

governor

/ (ˈɡʌvənə) /


noun
  1. a person who governs

  2. the ruler or chief magistrate of a colony, province, etc

  1. the representative of the Crown in a British colony

  2. British the senior administrator or head of a society, prison, etc

  3. the chief executive of any state in the US

  4. 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

  5. Also called: head grammar

    • 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

    • (as modifier): a governor noun

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

Other words from governor

  • Related adjective: gubernatorial

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012