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To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; exercise sovereign authority in.
(verb-transitive)
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To control the speed or magnitude of; regulate: a valve that governs fuel intake.
(verb-transitive)
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To control the actions or behavior of: Govern yourselves like civilized people.
(verb-transitive)
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To keep under control; restrain: a student who could not govern his impulses.
(verb-transitive)
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To exercise a deciding or determining influence on: Chance usually governs the outcome of the game.
(verb-transitive)
American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.