Govern meaning

verb

1. bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations

   “We cannot regulate the way people dress”

   “This town likes to regulate”

   Synonymsregulateregularizeregulariseorder

2. direct or strongly influence the behavior of

   “His belief in God governs his conduct”

3. exercise authority over; as of nations

   “Who is governing the country now?”

   Synonymsrule

4. require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood

   “most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German”