governance

noun

gov·​er·​nance ˈgə-vər-nən(t)s 

plural governances

: the act or process of governing or overseeing the control and direction of something (such as a country or an organization) : government

a centralized system of governance

the challenges of national governance

… the governance of amateur sport in America …

—P. S. Wood

… three years before he died, [Lionel] Trilling pressed the point that the way a nation thinks determines in the end the quality of its governance.

—Benjamin DeMott

Enron, and the corporate disasters that followed, forced many companies to get serious about governance.

—Louis Lavelle

Theirs was the perennial problem of quick-witted subjects under the governance of dull-witted administrators.

—Declan Kiberd

Michael Dukakis, at the 1988 Democratic convention, said governance was about competence, not ideology. He got it half right: Competence is important to governance, but ideology is critical …

—U.S. News & World Report

Synonyms

• government
• administration
• rule
• regime

Examples of governance in a Sentence

They have very different approaches to the governance of the city.

after World War II, the four Allied nations shared the governance of the territory of postwar Germany under the Allied Control Council

Recent Examples on the Web

Why Local Systems Matter The future of global development hinges not just on maintaining aid flows, but on restructuring how that aid is delivered through systems that prioritize local ownership and governance. —Trickleup, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chile, and Indonesia (among others) need sustained partnerships backed by financing, technology transfer, and critical infrastructure investments, not just our lectures on governance. —Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 29 June 2025

Such governance will likely include public data trusts, ethical review boards, and inclusive policy-making processes—all of which emphasize collective rather than individualistic solutions. —Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025

Once again, white Americans are benefiting from the labor of their nonwhite compatriots — with no controversy, and the blessing of state law and advocates of responsible governance. —Jennifer Hochschild, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

see govern

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing governance

• self-governance

Kids Definition

governance

noun

gov·​er·​nance ˈgəv-ər-nən(t)s 

: the exercise of control : government