governor
/ˈɡʌv(ə)nə/noun
governor is spelled G-O-V-E-R-N-O-R. The wrong spelling people search most is govenor: about 530 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026). Governor is a noun meaning “The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country”. The plural of governor is governors.
How many letters and syllables are in governor?
| Letters | 8: G-O-V-E-R-N-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 51 times per million words; the 1,993rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 3; the most searched, govenor, about 530 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell governor?
Governor is spelled G-O-V-E-R-N-O-R. 3 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is governor?
Governor appears 51 times per million words in written English, the 1,993rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce governor?
- /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə/
- /ˈɡʌvɚnɚ/
- /ˈɡʌvənə/
Governor has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-governor.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of governor
- governors plural
- guvnah informal
- guvnuh informal
- guv'nor informal
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does governor mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.
Younger voters are more libertarian in political philosophy than older voters and are credited with the success of libertarian governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota.
- 2
A device which regulates or controls some action of a machine through automatic feedback.
- 3
A member of a decision-making body (such as a committee) for a larger organization or entity (including some public agencies), similar to or equivalent to a board of directors (used especially for banks); a member of the board of governors.
The seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
- 4
UKdatedinformalTerm of address to a man.
- 5
UKinformalA superior, especially a boss, an employer, or (law enforcement) a superior police officer.
- 6
archaicinformalSynonym of father.
- 7
A constituent of a phrase that governs another.
- 8
datedOne who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian.
noun
- 1
The title for someone who holds the post of governor.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate governor?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of governor: gov.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Governor in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gouverneur, gouverneure |
| German | Gouverneur, Gouverneurin , Regler |
| Portuguese | governador, governadora , regulador |
| Spanish | gobernador, gobernadora |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does governor come from?
From Middle English governour, from Old French gouvreneur, from Latin gubernator, from Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs, “steersman, pilot, guide”), from κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer, to drive, to guide, to act as a pilot”), of disputed origin. By surface analysis, govern + -or. Doublet of gubernator.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).