- present tense form of govern (3rd person singular).
governs
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.
“What they have done is lower the standard for everything,” said Ali Khawar, a former senior official at the Department of Labor, which is charged with enforcing the federal law that governs retirement savings.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Consumer Watchdog contended in its lawsuit that the surcharges violated Proposition 103 — the 1988 measure that governs insurer rate hikes — because the proposition does not allow for them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
At the same time, your brain’s amygdala, or fear and emotion center, calms down and its prefrontal cortex, which governs rational thought, amps up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Quantum mechanics governs nature at the smallest scales such as particles, while Einstein’s theory of general relativity applies to gravity and spacetime.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
For example: Here’s an explanation of the rhetorical term syllepsis: “the use of a word that relates to, qualifies, or governs two or more other words but has a different meaning in relation to each.”
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
