1. To be officially responsible for directing the affairs, policies, and economy of a state, country, or organization: The citizens of the nation are so happy that they are not governed by a dictator.
2. To make and to administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority: The young kind governed the country in a wise manner after his father, the old kind, passed away.
3. To control, to regulate, or to direct something: The state governs the eligibility of teachers to receive their retirement funds.
4. To have or to exercise an influence over something: Luck or chance can govern the outcome of the game solitaire in a person's favour.
5. To control something by restraint: Sally was unable to govern her emotions.
6. To maintain the speed of an engine or to keep it from going above a specific level by controlling the fuel or steam supply: At the garage, Tom wanted to have the valve that governed the fuel intake checked carefully.