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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

manage.

To direct or be in charge of.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈmæn.ɪd͡ʒ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmæn.ɪd͡ʒ//ˈmɛən.ɪd͡ʒ//ˈmæn.əd͡ʒ/
  1. To direct or be in charge of.

    transitive
    Even though Jack is a novice, he manages his team with great success.
  2. To handle or control (a situation, job).

    transitive
    The government managed the inflation very poorly.
  3. To handle with skill, wield (a tool, weapon etc.).

    transitive
  4. To succeed at an attempt in spite of difficulty.

    intransitive
    He managed to climb the tower.
  5. To succeed at an attempt in spite of difficulty. To end up doing something that could or should have been avoided.

    intransitive · ironic
    She somehow managed to sit on the wet paint.
  6. To achieve (something) without fuss, or without outside help.

    ambitransitive
    It's a tough job, but I'll manage.
  7. To manage to say; to say while fighting back embarrassment, laughter, etc.

    transitive
    "That's nice, dear!", she managed.
  8. To train (a horse) in the manège; to exercise in graceful or artful action.

    transitive
  9. To treat with care; to husband.

    obsolete · transitive
  10. To bring about; to contrive.

    obsolete · transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂-der. Proto-Italic *manus Latin manus Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Latin -izāre Vulgar Latin *manizāre Old Italian maneggiareder.? Old French manegebor. Middle English *manage English manage From Early Modern English manage, menage, from Middle English *manage, *menage, from Old French manege (“the handling or training of a horse, horsemanship, riding, maneuvers, proceedings”), probably from Old Italian maneggiare (“to handle, manage, touch, treat”), from Vulgar Latin *manizāre (“handle”), from Latin manus (“hand”) + -izāre (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of manège. Compare typologically English handle; Russian руководи́ть (rukovodítʹ) (< рука́ (ruká)).

noun/ˈmæn.ɪd͡ʒ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmæn.ɪd͡ʒ//ˈmɛən.ɪd͡ʒ//ˈmæn.əd͡ʒ/
  1. The act of managing or controlling something.

    archaic · uncountable
  2. Manège.

    uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂-der. Proto-Italic *manus Latin manus Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Latin -izāre Vulgar Latin *manizāre Old Italian maneggiareder.? Old French manegebor. Middle English *manage English manage From Early Modern English manage, menage, from Middle English *manage, *menage, from Old French manege (“the handling or training of a horse, horsemanship, riding, maneuvers, proceedings”), probably from Old Italian maneggiare (“to handle, manage, touch, treat”), from Vulgar Latin *manizāre (“handle”), from Latin manus (“hand”) + -izāre (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of manège. Compare typologically English handle; Russian руководи́ть (rukovodítʹ) (< рука́ (ruká)).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.