regent

noun

re·gent ˈrē-jənt

: a person who governs a kingdom in the minority, absence, or disability of the sovereign

: a person who rules or reigns : governor

: a member of a governing board (as of a state university)

regent adjective

regental

ˈrē-jən-tᵊl

adjective

Examples of regent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The school is amid the final steps, sources said, including detailing the move in an Arizona board of regents meeting Thursday night. —

Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 5 Aug. 2023 The university’s board of regents held a special meeting Thursday afternoon with athletics operations on the agenda. —

The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 July 2023 News Student enrollment is up at University of Alaska campuses overall, chancellors told the board of regents at their Aug. 31 meeting. —

Claire Stremple, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Sep. 2023 Washington regents called a special meeting to discuss present pending or potential litigation with counsel. —

Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 3 Aug. 2023 Advertisement Colorado’s board of regents voted 9-0 in a special remote meeting Thursday to approve the conference switch in 2024. —

Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 27 July 2023 Earlier this year, the university’s board of regents approved a $3.3 million, 4,800-square-foot hangar at the Nenana airport to serve as a base for cargo-flight tests and other activities. —

Yereth Rosen, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Aug. 2023 The issues presented by more frequent cross-country travel were probed at length while UCLA went through its process of approval to change conferences by the University of California’s board of regents last year. —

oregonlive, 10 Aug. 2023 The regents ultimately approved the deal after requiring UCLA to share some revenue with Berkeley and take measures to support the health and academic needs of its athletes. —

Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'regent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin regent-, regens, from Latin, present participle of regere to direct — more at right

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of regent was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Regent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regent. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.

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Kids Definition

regent

noun

re·gent ˈrē-jənt

: a person who governs a kingdom when a monarch is not able to

: a member of a governing group (as of a state university)

regent adjective

Etymology

Middle English regent "one who governs," from early French regent or Latin regent-, regens (both, same meaning), from earlier Latin regens, a form of the verb regere "to lead straight, govern, rule" — related to rail entry 1, regulate, rule