preside (over)

verb

pri-ˈzīd How to pronounce preside (over) (audio)
Definition of preside (over)next
1
as in to rule
to exercise authority or power over from 1923 to 1948 Palestine was presided over by Great Britain under a mandate granted by the League of Nations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to operate
to look after and make decisions about he presides over a vast communications empire

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for preside (over)
  1. rule
  2. operate
  3. govern
  4. manage
  5. supervise
  6. oversee
  7. control
  8. regulate
Verb
  • Quarterback Hayes Hackney had been ruled ineligible Tuesday by the 3-5A Division II District Executive Committee.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2026
  • In August 2022, Garza was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial and ordered to be jailed until a bed in a state mental health treatment facility was available.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of rule
Verb
  • Betsy Smith, the head of the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit which operates the park, cheered the passage of the bill.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Such facilities successfully operate today, prioritizing community leadership, transparency, compensation and quiet all at once.
    — Neil Chatterjee, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of operate
Verb
  • Infantino is seeking re-election next year as the head of soccer’s world governing body in the face of attempts to force him to stand down in the wake of the divisive plan.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • There are other schools guided by religion – Notre Dame and Villanova are about to enjoy an audience with the Pope after playing in men’s and women’s basketball in Rome next month – but none is technically governed by its church.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of govern
Verb
  • Union Berlin managed to draw at Augsburg 1-1 after a player from each was sent off in separate incidents.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The winner will gain one of five seats on the board that runs the highway district, which is responsible for building, managing and maintaining local roads and bridges countywide — as well as setting ACHD’s nearly $260 million annual budget.
    — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of manage
Verb
  • Children under 12 must be accompanied by a supervising companion who is at least 14 years old.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The California Department of State Hospitals contracts with Liberty Healthcare to supervise people convicted of specific crimes and who also struggle with significant mental health conditions.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of supervise
Verb
  • Earlier discussions included allowing the Atlanta Department of Corrections to retain one floor and administrative space to oversee municipal detainees.
    — CBS News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Its platform helps teams oversee the work required to advance a potential medicine, giving program leaders a clearer picture of progress across a drug’s development.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of oversee
Verb
  • In her latest book, Harvard historian Jill Lepore argues that Big Tech now controls the United States—and, by extension, the entire planet.
    — Nina Verdelli, Vanity Fair, 24 Oct. 2026
  • He was angered when the team's controlling owner moved the team to Atlanta for the 1966 season.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of control
Verb
  • An architect’s struggle with Nevada’s state licensing board raises a broader question about how to regulate industry.
    — Wendy R. Anderson, Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The group says it’s shaped several must-haves by taking lessons from Washington’s failure to regulate social media.
    — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of regulate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

presidentships
preside (over)
presider
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Preside (over).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preside%20%28over%29. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of emissary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All