| 1. | a governor who is chief over subordinate or deputy governors. |
| 2. | governor (def. 3). |
[guhv-er-ner, ‑uh-ner] 
| 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.
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[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. | gov·er·nor-gen·er·al (gŭv'ər-nər-jěn'ər-əl) n. pl. gov·er·nors-gen·er·al or gov·er·nor-gen·er·als A governor of a large territory who has other subordinate governors under his or her jurisdiction. gov'er·nor-gen'er·al·ship' n. |