Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To direct or control the use of; handle: manage a complex machine tool.
- v. To exert control over: "Managing the news . . . is the oldest game in town” ( James Reston). "A major crisis to be managed loomed on the horizon” ( Time).
- v. To make submissive to one's authority, discipline, or persuasion.
- v. To direct the affairs or interests of: manage a company; an agency that manages performers. See Synonyms at conduct.
- v. To succeed in accomplishing or achieving, especially with difficulty; contrive or arrange: managed to get a promotion.
- v. To direct or conduct business affairs.
- v. To continue to get along; carry on: learning how to manage on my own.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The handling, control, or training of a horse; manège.
- n. A ring for the training of horses and the practice of horsemanship; a riding-school.
- n. In general, training; discipline; treatment.
- n. Management.
- n. Bearing; behavior.
- To wield by hand; guide or direct by use of the hands; hence, to control or regulate by any physical exertion.
- To train by handling or manipulation; drill to certain styles and habits of action; teach by exercise or training, as in the manège.
- To control or direct by administrative ability; regulate or administer; have the guidance or direction of: as, to manage a theater.
- To control, restrain, or lead by keeping in a desired state or condition; direct by influence or persuasion: as, to manage an angry or an insane person.
- To arrange, fashion, contrive, effect, or carry out by skill or art; carry on or along; bring about: as, to manage the characters of a play, or the plot of a novel; to manage a delicate or perplexing piece of business.
- To succeed in contriving; effect by effort, or by action of any kind (in the latter case often ironical): with an infinitive for object: as, to manage to hold one's own; in his eagerness he managed to lose everything.
- Synonyms Manage, Conduct, Direct, handle, superintend, supervise, order, transact. Manage literally implies handling, and hence primarily belongs to smaller concerns, on which one may at all times keep his hand: as, to manage a house; a manage a theater. Its essential idea is that of constant attention to details: as, only a combination of great abilities with a genius for industry can manage the affairs of an empire. To conduct is to lead along, hence to attend with personal supervision; it implies the determination of the main features of administration and the securing of thoroughness in those who carry out the commands; it is used of both large things and small, but generally refers to a definite task, coming to an end or issue: as, to conduct a religious service, a funeral, a campaign. Direct allows the person directing to be at a distance or near; the word suggests more authority than manage or conduct.
- See govern and guide, v. t.
- To direct or conduct affairs; regulate or carry on any business.
Wiktionary
- v. to direct or be in charge of.
- v. to handle or control (a situation, job).
- v. To handle, wield (a tool, weapon etc.).
- v. to force.
- v. to succeed at an attempt
- v. to achieve without fuss, or without outside help.
- n. The act of managing or controlling something.
- n. Manège.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The handling or government of anything, but esp. of a horse; management; administration. See manege.
- v. To have under control and direction; to conduct; to guide; to administer; to treat; to handle.
- v. to guide by careful or delicate treatment; to wield with address; to make subservient by artful conduct; to bring around cunningly to one's plans.
- v. To train in the manege, as a horse; to exercise in graceful or artful action.
- v. To treat with care; to husband.
- v. To bring about; to contrive.
- v. To direct affairs; to carry on business or affairs; to administer.
WordNet 3.0
- v. come to terms with
- v. carry on or function
- v. watch and direct
- v. achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
- v. be successful; achieve a goal
- v. be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
- v. handle effectively
Etymologies
- Italian maneggiare, from Vulgar Latin *manidiāre, from Latin manus, hand; see man-2 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“Someone posed a question to me about the most likely way that a plural marriage law would handle the exponential increase in relationships to manage from a legal perspective.”
“And the best they can ever manage is to lob a few dozen rockets at a Turkish military base before getting slaughtered.”
“Facebook also is removing regional networks because some of them -- such as China -- consist of millions of users, which makes them nearly impossible to manage from a privacy standpoint.”
“She bribes him into getting transportation papers for a refugee, but the best he can manage is papers that require her to be escorted by him.”
“Abdicating his war-time leadership role to Congress and the generals is EXACTLY what President Bush did throughout his managing of the Iraq war, falling back again and again on some supposed unwillingness to micro-manage from the Oval office.”
“My state tends to manage from a carrying capacity perspective.”
“After buying expensive cameras and running around with Austin, the best Grenier can manage is a picture of Brooke Shields leaving a restaurant.”
The Washington Post: HBO and Adam Grenier turn the camera on a kid paparazzo
“The most we manage is a beer and pretzels card game at Chinese carry out (fairly regularly).”
Children and Games: Changing and Staying the Same « Third Point of Singularity
“From a different type of teaching (Adult Literacy) what I try to get across to the tutors I manage is that we need to provide “Maximum Challenge and Maximum Support”.”
“I just think the narrative on the banking issue will be easier to manage from the left.”

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