governor
/ˈɡʌv(ə)nə/
governor noun: the chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.
Noun (1)
governor (plural governors)
- The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.
- Younger voters are more libertarian in political philosophy than older voters and are credited with the success of libertarian governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota.1999, Karen O'Connor, The essentials of American government: continuity and change, page 17
- Top aides and people close to Kamala Harris have divided over whether she should head home to run for California governor in 2026 — and it all comes down to whether they believe she could win the Democratic nomination for president in an expected competitive primary in 2028.2024 December 15, Edward-Isaac Dovere, “Harris debates her future: A run for California governor that would take 2028 off the table”, in CNN, archived from the original on 27 Jan 2025
- Synonyms:
- viceroy, proconsul, bailiff, seneschal, intendant, tao tai, circuit intendant, daotai, provost, gubernator
- A device which regulates or controls some action of a machine through automatic feedback.
- A governor on the injection pump limits the speed when running idle.1958 July, “German Railbuses for British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 501
- Generator excitation is obtained by a combination of the separately-excited and self-excited fields, and the output is controlled by a resistance in the separate field circuit adjusted by the load regulator under the control of the engine governor.1961 October, “The first 1,250 h.p. Birmingham/Sulzer Type 2 diesels enter service”, in Trains Illustrated, page 607
- A member of a decision-making body (such as a committee) for a larger organization or entity (including some public agencies), similar to or equivalent to a board of directors (used especially for banks); a member of the board of governors.
- The seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreserve.gov (November 6, 2009)
- Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and head of the country’s foreign exchange regulator, chaired a symposium with representatives from foreign companies, including JP Morgan, Tesla (TSLA), HSBC (HSBC), Deutsche Bank (DB), BNP Paribas, Japan’s MUFG Bank, German chemical...2023 September 19, Laura He, “China woos Tesla, JP Morgan and other Western companies as foreign investment slumps”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 26 Jul 2025
- Term of address to a man.
- "Oh, right you are, governor, if you say so," accepted Fank […]1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London
- A superior, especially a boss, an employer, or (law enforcement) a superior police officer.
- DCI Tom Barnaby: ... so far, your detective sergeant is absolutely believable.
Nico Bentley: Terrific. Why?
Barnaby: You've observed Rule Number 1: Always keep the governor waiting.2000 February 5, Douglas Watkinson et al., “Beyond the Grave”, in Midsomer Murders
- DCI Tom Barnaby: ... so far, your detective sergeant is absolutely believable.
- Synonym of father.
- "Say 'father.' We never called him papa; and if one of my brothers had addressed him as 'governor,' as boys do now, I really think he'd have him cut off with a shilling."1869, Louisa May Alcott, An Old-Fashioned Girl
- Synonyms:
- father
- A constituent of a phrase that governs another.
- One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian.
- A pilot; a steersman.
Noun (2) capitalized: Governor
Governor (plural Governors)
- The title for someone who holds the post of governor.
- The Auschwitz Memorial Museum slammed Kyle Langford, Republican candidate for Governor of California, after his antisemitic remarks, calling out his actions as a “profound moral failure.”2025 July 27, “California governor candidate calls Auschwitz 'solution for homelessness,' sparks critisism”, in The Jerusalem Post
governor meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
governor in Hindi
- chief executive officer of first-level division of a country
- राज्यपाल rājyapāl, गवर्नर gavarnar, हाकिम hākim
governor in Tamil
- ஆளுநர், ஆள்கருவி, ஆளிகை, வகங்காக்கும் விசையமைவி
governor in Marathi
- chief executive officer of first-level division of a country
- राज्यपाल rājyapāl
governor in Urdu
- chief executive officer of first-level division of a country
- گَوَرْنَر gavarnar, حاکِم hākim, والی vālī
More languagesFewer languages
- governor in Bengali
- রাজ্যপাল rajjopal
- governor in Telugu
- గవర్నరు gavarnaru, అధికారి adhikāri
- governor in Malayalam
- രാജ്യാധികാരി, ഭരണാധികാരി, രാജപ്രതിനിധി, ഭരണകർത്താവ്
- governor in Kannada
- ನಾಡಾಳ್ವ, ಕಟ್ಟುಕ, ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲ
- governor in Punjabi
- ਗਵਰਨਰ
- governor in Gujarati
- રાજ્યપાલ, ગવર્નર
- governor in Odia
- ରାଜ୍ଯ଼ପାଳ, ଗଭର୍ଣ୍ଣର
- governor in Nepali
- राज्यपाल, गभर्नर
- governor in Pashto
- والي wālí, حاکم hãkəm, hãkem
- governor in Tagalog
- gobernador
- governor in Arabic
- مُحَافِظ muḥāfiẓ, حَاكِم ḥākim, وَالٍ wālin
- governor in Malay
- gabenor
- governor in Indonesian
- gubernur
- governor in Thai
- ผู้ว่าราชการ pûu-wâa-râat-chá-gaan
- governor in Vietnamese
- thống đốc, thống sử
- governor in Myanmar
- ဘုရင်ခံ bhu.ranghkam
Examples of governor in a sentence
- He published an open letter to the governor on a full page of The New York Times.
- The governor stayed the execution until the appeal could be heard.
- The governor just gave me a rise of two pound six.
Synonyms of governor
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of governor
| plural | governors |
|---|---|
| plural | Governors |
| alternative form (obsolete) | gouernour |
| alternative form (obsolete) | gouvernor |
| alternative form (obsolete) | gouvernour |
| alternative form (obsolete) | governer |
| alternative form (obsolete) | governour |
| alternative form (informal) | guvnah |
| alternative form (informal) | guvnuh |
| alternative form (informal) | guv'nor |
Origin of governor
From Middle English governour, from Old French gouvreneur, from Latin gubernator, from Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs, “steersman, pilot, guide”), from κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer, to drive, to guide, to act as a pilot”), of disputed origin. By surface analysis, govern + -or. Doublet of gubernator.
Words formed from governor
- archgovernor
- centrifugal governor
- cogovernor
- Governator
- governoress
- Governor Generoso
- governorly
- governorship
- Governors Island
- gov
- gov.
- gov'nor
- guv
- guv'nor
- lieutenant governor
- subgovernor
- undergovernor
Phrases with governor
Questions about governor
- What does governor mean?
- Governor means the chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.
- What is governor in Hindi?
- Governor in Hindi is राज्यपाल (rājyapāl), गवर्नर (gavarnar), हाकिम (hākim). See Governor meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is governor?
- Governor is a noun.
- How do you pronounce governor?
- Governor is pronounced /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə/.
- What is the plural of governor?
- The plural of governor is governors.
Words near governor in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: governor (page history and authors); Governor (page history and authors); governor (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); అధికారి (Telugu) (page history and authors); governor (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); governor (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); governor (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); governor (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); governor (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); governor (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-governor.ogg.
Cite this entry: “governor.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/governor. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.