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

The memo, from NBA General Counsel Rick Buchanan and Dan Spillane, the league's executive vice president in charge of governance and policy, was addressed to the NBA's board of governors, team presidents, general managers and team counsels. —Jessica Golden,dan Mangan, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2025

Our software integrates with any retail management system (RMS) or warehouse management system (WMS) to make donating more seamless than ever before, unlocking environmental, social and governance (ESG) wins, operational savings and brand loyalty in one platform. —Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 27 Oct. 2025

Uncertainty has lingered about the post-war governance of Gaza and security in the territory if the group is disarmed. —Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2025

The appeal, made in a letter Monday, comes ahead of the November 6 annual meeting as the board faces mounting criticism over governance and its independence from Musk’s influence. —Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 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