# govern vs governor

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### govern
*verb · IPA /ˈɡʌv.ən/ · frequency rank #11,709*
To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority in.

### governor
*noun · IPA /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #1,998*
The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/govern-vs-governor