Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Latin
Origin: praesidere 'to sit in front of, guard, preside over', from sedere 'to sit'

preside

 verb
     
pre‧side [intransitive]
to be in charge of a formal event, organization, ceremony etc:
I shall be pleased to preside at your meetings.
Mr Justice Waller, presiding judge for the north east

preside over something

phrasal verb
1 to be in a position of authority at a time when important things are happening:
The government seemed to be presiding over large-scale unemployment.
2 to be the head of a company or organization:
Finch presided over the company for 30 years.
3 to be in charge of a meeting or activity:
The chairman will preside over an audience of architects and developers.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary