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Definition of reign verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

reign

verb
 
/reɪn/
 
/reɪn/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they reign
 
/reɪn/
 
/reɪn/
he / she / it reigns
 
/reɪnz/
 
/reɪnz/
past simple reigned
 
/reɪnd/
 
/reɪnd/
past participle reigned
 
/reɪnd/
 
/reɪnd/
-ing form reigning
 
/ˈreɪnɪŋ/
 
/ˈreɪnɪŋ/
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  1. [intransitive] to rule as king, queen, emperor, etc.
    • It was the first visit by a British reigning monarch to Russia.
    • Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901.
    • reign over somebody/something Herod reigned over Palestine at that time.
    Homophones rain | reign | reinrain   reign   rein
     
    /reɪn/
     
    /reɪn/
    • rain noun
      • Look at that rain! We'll be drenched if it doesn't stop.
    • rain verb
      • Take an umbrella—it's going to rain.
    • reign noun
      • The country changed dramatically during her long reign.
    • reign verb
      • Henry Bolingbroke was soon to reign in England as Henry IV.
    • rein noun
      • She's been given free rein to spend the money however she wants.
    • rein verb
      • Steps were taken to rein in expenditure.
    Topics Historyc1
  2. [intransitive] reign (over somebody/something) to be the best or most important in a particular situation or area of skill
    • She will face the reigning champion in her first round match.
    • In the field of classical music, he still reigns supreme.
    Extra Examples
    • a show in which the music reigns supreme
    • A handful of families have reigned over Bangkok's economy for many years.
  3. [intransitive] (literary) (of an idea, a feeling or an atmosphere) to be the most obvious feature of a place or moment
    • At last silence reigned (= there was complete silence).
    • For a while, chaos and confusion reigned.
  4. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French reignier ‘to reign’, reigne ‘kingdom’, from Latin regnum, related to rex, reg- ‘king’.
See reign in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee reign in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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