Reign or rein?
reign is a noun meaning “The exercise of sovereign power”; rein is a noun meaning “A strap or rope attached to a bridle or bit, used to control a horse, other…”. They sound the same (/ɹeɪ̯n/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) reign is about 5.0 times as common as rein.
What is the difference between reign and rein?
| reign | rein | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | The exercise of sovereign power The period during which a monarch rules To exercise sovereign power, to rule as a monarch | A strap or rope attached to a bridle or bit, used to control a horse, other animal or young child An instrument or means of curbing, restraining, or governing To direct or stop a horse by using reins |
| Example | England prospered under Elizabeth I's reign | The government is attempting to keep a rein on rising prices |
| Forms | reigns | reins |
| Pronunciation | /ɹeɪ̯n/ /ɹæɪ̯n/ | /ɹeɪn/ |
| In writing | 12 times per million words | 2.3 times per million words |
Sources: reign and rein in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of reign and rein
reign
- 1
The exercise of sovereign power
England prospered under Elizabeth I's reign
- 2
To exercise sovereign power, to rule as a monarch
He reigned in an autocratic manner
- 3
The period during which a monarch rules
The reign of Victoria was a long one
- 4
To be the winner of the most recent iteration of a competition
- 5
The territory or sphere over which a kingdom; empire; realm; dominion, etc. is ruled
- 6
To be a dominant quality of a place or situation; to prevail, predominate, rule
Silence reigned
rein
- 1
A strap or rope attached to a bridle or bit, used to control a horse, other animal or young child
- 2
To direct or stop a horse by using reins
- 3
The inward impulses; the affections and passions, formerly supposed to be located in the area of the kidneys
- 4
Acronym of repetitive electrical impulse noise
- 5
An instrument or means of curbing, restraining, or governing
The government is attempting to keep a rein on rising prices
- 6
To restrain; to control; to check
- 7
To obey directions given with the reins
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, reign or rein?
reign appears 12 times per million words; rein 2.3 times per million words.
reign 12 times per million wordsrein 2.3 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search reign vs rein?
“reign vs rein” is searched about 2,900 times a month on Google and 50 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“rein vs reign”, “reign or rein”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.