reign

plural reigns · alternative obsolete raygne

1. The exercise of sovereign power.

   England prospered under Elizabeth I's reign.

   1 more example

   Throughout history, no single dictator has successfully upheld their reign forever, no matter how powerful they seemed to be.

   2020 December 6, Xin Yan, “The Seemingly Impossible Is Possible”, in Minghui

2. The period during which a monarch rules.

   The reign of Victoria was a long one.

3. The territory or sphere over which a kingdom; empire; realm; dominion, etc. is ruled.

   And the Fox guileful, and most covetous; / That neither pleased was, to have the reign / Twixt them divided into even twain

   1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC

present singular third person reigns · participle present reigning · participle past reigned · past reigned · alternative obsolete raygne

1. intransitiveTo exercise sovereign power, to rule as a monarch.

   He reigned in an autocratic manner.

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   Both we will raigne as Conſuls of the earth, And mightie kings ſhall be our Senators.

   c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii

2. nonstandardraretransitiveTo reign over (a country)

   The House of Piast reigned Poland from its foundation to 1385.

   2007, Anna Chilewska, Writing after the gaze: the rupture of the historical

3. To be the winner of the most recent iteration of a competition.
4. To be a dominant quality of a place or situation; to prevail, predominate, rule.

   Silence reigned.

   2 more examples

   Silence reigned, broken only by the hideous screeching of vultures and the sound of a lawn-mower being used in the hospital grounds.

   1936, F.J. Thwaites, The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards Publishing, published 1940, page 58

   Unfortunately – and ironically – the word ‘system’ itself is used in such a wide variety of contexts within animal science, as indeed it is in virtually every domain of human activity, that confusion reigns about what a systems-oriented research programme actually looks like and what systems-oriented animal scientists actually do.

   2007, Richard Bawden, “Redesigning Animal Agriculture: a Systemic Perspective”, in David L. Swain, Ed Charmley, John Steel, Shaun Coffey, editors, Redesigning Animal Agriculture: The Challenge of the 21st Century, CABI, page 1

1. A unisex given name.

   Johnson’s youngest daughter, Reign Rushing, 8, was also a showstopper.

   2026 August 2, Danielle Jones, “'Look at You': Lil' Kim Gushes Over Daughter Royal Reign on the Runway as Ice-T's Mini-Me Chanel Turns Heads with Her Catwalk”, in Atlanta Black Star

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   On Thursday, March 26, the reality star uploaded a new photo of his and Kourtney Kardashian's 11-year-old son, Reign Disick, as they appeared to be dining outdoors on a patio overlooking the California ocean.

   2026 March 27, Stephanie Kaplan, “Scott Disick's Son Reign Gets Compared to Justin Bieber in New Photo as Reality Star Calls 11-Year-Old a 'Fine Young Gentleman'”, in OK Magazine