Definition of reign in English:

reign

verb

[with object]

1Hold royal office; rule as monarch.
‘Queen Elizabeth reigns over the UK’
- ‘Democracy has been conveniently thrown out the door and in its wake imperialist and dictatorial rule reign supreme.’
- ‘And we pay these modern-day monarchs to reign over and rule us.’
- ‘Despite possessing many of the qualities needed to govern, the king had reigned but never ruled.’
- ‘I would argue that while profits remain the centerpiece of Capitalistic processes, financial and speculative profits today reign supreme.’
- ‘Now Lutz, who will reign supreme over every aspect of vehicle operations from the design studio to the factory floor, wants to change all that.’
- ‘At home, he would find a welcoming and loving reception from his wife and children at the end of a hard day and there, regardless of his standing in the outside world, he would reign supreme.’
- ‘Browns and copper colors reign supreme, and the image radiates warmth.’
- ‘Of course, vanilla will always reign supreme when it comes to ice cream.’
- ‘From that date on, government would play a far smaller role in the economy, and markets would reign supreme.’
- ‘The East Side is one of those places where the New York elite reign supreme.’
- ‘General clutter seems to reign supreme, culminating in a teetering mountain of disgustingly neglected pots and pans.’
- ‘Captains used to reign supreme; questioning their judgment handicapped career advancement.’
- ‘We in this country now live in a society where money and convenience reign supreme.’
- ‘But whether you're a ship enthusiast, royal watcher or both, the legacy of the royal ships will always reign at sea.’
- ‘While children reign supreme for advertisers, in the world of books, it is the parents who have the final word, according to publishers.’
- ‘You could call it an all-children show, where children reign supreme.’
- ‘His life is incredible, and he continues to reign supreme and makes a little money, too.’
- ‘The underdogs reigned supreme as stars succumbed to fatigue’
- ‘The monarch reigns, but does not rule the nation per se, acting only with the approval of Parliament.’
- ‘Another major difference is that the British monarchy still reigns in many countries of the former British Empire.’
ruling, regnant
be king, be queen, be monarch, be sovereign, sit on the throne, occupy the throne, wear the crown, wield the sceptre, hold sway, rule, govern, be in power
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1. 1.1Be the best or most important in a particular area or domain.
  ‘in America, baseball reigns supreme’
  ‘A committed team effort from Kendal was rewarded with a 35-run victory over reigning Northern Premier League champions Darwen at Birch Hall on Saturday.’
  ‘Coughlin, the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion, had to settle for third.’
  ‘In the League semi-final Carlow shocked reigning Ulster champions, Armagh, to reach the county's lone NFL final.’
  ‘The local ladies football club and reigning junior ladies champions, took part in their first juvenile match on Saturday, May 27.’
  ‘The southern club impressed all year and it was no surprise that they defeated the reigning champions to take the title.’
  ‘Instead of working their way back into the game as reigning champions should be expected to do, they constantly bombarded Quirke with high balls as they desperately sought a lifeline through a goal.’
  ‘They weren't too disappointed because the person that beat them was not only the reigning champion for their region, but was also reigning world champion.’
  ‘These girls were unlucky to lose out to reigning All-Ireland champions Rathcoole in the Leinster final of the Community Games in the summer.’
  ‘Meanwhile, the reigning champion has announced that he will contest the series that begins in Hockenheim next weekend.’
  ‘As reigning All-Ireland champions, the perspective has changed, as has the attitude.’
  ‘He said it was about time another service took out the honours as Service champions, with the Victoria Police reigning winners for the past five years.’
  ‘Last year Waterford travelled to Thurles to face Cork, as reigning Munster Champions after that memorable victory over Tipperary in Cork in '02.’
  ‘Tipp were reigning All Ireland Champions, while Waterford were looking for their first Munster crown in 39 years.’
  ‘It is also expected that the reigning World Ploughing Champion will take part.’
  ‘In a surprise development, reigning Leinster and All Ireland champions Louth took the dreaded drop.’
  incumbent, current, in office, presiding, in power
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2. 1.2(of a quality or condition) be the dominant feature of a situation or place.
  ‘confusion reigned’
  ‘Quality reigns when it comes to choosing an adequate outsource partner, but the significance of inventory management capabilities is increasing.’
  ‘All around him, chaos and disorder reigned.’
  ‘The party's lack of emphasis on defense didn't matter much when peace and prosperity reigned.’
  ‘After a year of smiling while chaos reigned behind her and the journalists screamed for more coffee, Caitlin has been inspired to head off to university to study communication.’
  ‘Staying unruffled while chaos reigns all around you is the hallmark of corporate leadership.’
  ‘Chaos reigned as officials and reporters haplessly endeavoured to stay calm through the calamity and make some sense of the senseless.’
  ‘As it happened, peace reigned for much of 1802, but the on-off war with France resumed in May 1803.’
  ‘Chaos reigned throughout the cabins as the plane slowly leaked air.’
  ‘Traffic chaos will reign throughout Kerry because of a failure to consider longterm implications of housing developments, it has been claimed.’
  ‘Chaos reigned for a few minutes before Jonathan could settle them down.’
  ‘Chaos reigned in the main entranceway as police officers swarmed into the building.’
  ‘Perhaps the best course is for each of us to work toward positive change in the world and hope that peace will reign.’
  ‘But chaos reigns after the arrival of Japanese occupying forces.’
  ‘Meanwhile, anarchy reigns in the countryside as bandits, vowing to help the poor, raid and slaughter government convoys.’
  ‘Chaos reigns as paramedics attempt to evacuate the wounded, and security officials try to clear the area, fearing more bomb attacks.’
  ‘At the airfield, chaos reigned as rescue crews equipped with fire extinguishers doused the flames emanating from the downed fighter.’
  ‘Silence reigns over the public library, and this corner in particular.’
  ‘Silence reigns over the hall until Peter can't take it any more.’
  ‘There are certain art historical opinions that might as well be established fact: reigning opinions about Goya, for example.’
  ‘Finding the best art anywhere - even in New York - requires free-wheeling open-mindedness, unburdened by reigning ideas and trends.’
  prevailing, existing, extant, contemporary, present, current, modern, latest
  prevail, exist, be in existence, be present, be the case, hold, obtain, occur, be prevalent, be current, be rife, be rampant, be the order of the day, be customary, be established, be common, be widespread, be in force, be in effect
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noun

1The period of rule of a monarch.
‘the original chapel was built in the reign of Charles I’
- ‘It was the official religion during the reign of the monarchy and is currently the unofficial religion.’
- ‘When the Queen first began her reign, monarchs were expected to be somewhat detached, grand and distant figures, especially the British monarch.’
- ‘A modern historian has said that at no period of her history has Scotland ever stood relatively so high in the scale of nations as during the reign of this excellent monarch.’
- ‘His immensely successful career at the English court spans the reigns of five monarchs; he was knighted in 1692 and made a baronet in 1715.’
- ‘The memorial was built during the reign of Maharaja Kirt Shah in 1897.’
- ‘He was born in Exeter on March 25th, 1545, the eldest son of John Bodley, a Protestant merchant who during the reign of Mary Tudor sought refuge with his family in Geneva.’
- ‘He served as a principal secretary to four successive Tudor monarchs, from Henry VIII to the early reign of Queen Elizabeth.’
- ‘The issue of direct royal control over the army largely died away during the reign of Queen Anne and the Hanoverians.’
- ‘People who longed for a more thorough introduction of Reformation principles during the reigns from Henry VIII to James I heavily relied on the Old Testament.’
- ‘Another intriguing find from the cemetery was a group of seven gold coins from the reign of Henry VIII known as ‘angels’.’
- ‘Wales was legally annexed by the Act of Union 1536, in the reign of Henry VIII of England.’
- ‘If anything, the reign of Henry VII marked as much the triumph of the king's courtiers in politics as of the king himself.’
- ‘The rules governing the use of the Royal Standard were tightened during the reign of Edward VII.’
- ‘However, Mughal supremacy in India was not established till the reign of Akbar and before that there were times when the Mughals were in danger of extinction.’
- ‘However, we have to wait till the reign of Shah Jahan for the full genius of Mughal architecture to come forth.’
- ‘Political hostility continued during the latter part of the reign of Henry III who succeeded John in 1216.’
- ‘The short and troubled reigns of Cnut's sons saw the rise of powerful dynasties in England.’
- ‘Excavation has disproved the old idea that the mid-Saxon economy was moribund and that no significant steps towards urbanism were taken before the reign of Alfred the Great.’
- ‘The reign of Alexander III did a great deal to extend the power of the tsar at the expense of liberties taken for granted in Western Europe.’
- ‘He made his official debut at the Paris Opera in 1759 during the reign of Louis XIV.’
rule, sovereignty, monarchy
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1. 1.1The period during which someone or something is predominant or pre-eminent.
  ‘she was hoping for a long reign as world champion’
  ‘Even in the darkest early days of his reign as Down manager he never tried to offload the blame for defeat.’
  ‘Meanwhile, Jonathan Edwards saw his reign as European champion brought to an end as the triple jump great was toppled by Sweden's Christian Olsson.’
  ‘During his reign as manager, English helped Tipp to win one All-Ireland, one Munster championship and two National League titles.’
  ‘Hughes defended his reign, despite criticism of his record of failing to win nine successive competitive matches.’
  ‘Considering your long reign on the screen what made you stand out when there were many actresses who were as beautiful and talented?’
  ‘She knew they were not happy last year when they had lost their three-year reign as champions to a pair of nobodies.’
  ‘His reign as the Irish soccer manager could have been so much better if only a series of incidents had to fall in his favour rather than against him.’
  ‘Now, after a year of working closely with the Spa Ladies Committee, her reign officially ends this Friday.’
  ‘Sometimes they'll let me just have free reign, or it's a collaboration.’
  ‘The pope's reign is officially over at the end of his funeral mass this Friday.’
  ‘Her older and crustier crew, holdovers from her father's reign as captain, has no trouble accepting a teenager as the sole decision maker for the ship.’
  ‘I understand now how the war ended a contemptible reign of terror by brutal religious bigots.’
  ‘The reaction was good, it made it entertaining which just shows the benefit of having a long title reign.’
  ‘The longest title reign in heavyweight history is shortened to four years instead of just under 12.’
  period in office, incumbency, tenancy, managership, leadership
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