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

• administration
• authority
• government
• jurisdiction
• regime
• régime
• regimen
• rule

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

One study found that historically, companies that do a better job with corporate governance, environmental concerns and social issues, known as ESG, tend to have lowers costs capital and financing costs. —Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025

This is not the path toward business regeneration but one toward the demise of capitalism and transparent governance. —Javier Corrales, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

Nick Stewart is the cofounder of the good governance advocacy group We The People — Baltimore County ([e-mail]), board member of the community development corporation Southwest Visions Foundation and former member of the Baltimore County Workforce Development Board. —Will Anderson, Baltimore Sun, 22 Apr. 2025

Shockwaves In Energy Investors looking at long-term investments like energy care about the rule of law, good governance, transparency, certainty, and stability for their returns. —Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 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