Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To have charge of; direct or administer: synonym: conduct.
  • intransitive verb To exert control over; regulate or limit toward a desired end.
  • intransitive verb To direct or supervise (employees or other staff).
  • intransitive verb To act as the manager of (a performer, for example).
  • intransitive verb To succeed in accomplishing, achieving, or producing, especially with difficulty.
  • intransitive verb To succeed in coping or dealing with.
  • intransitive verb To direct or conduct business affairs.
  • intransitive verb To continue to get along; carry on; cope.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The handling, control, or training of a horse; manège.
  • noun A ring for the training of horses and the practice of horsemanship; a riding-school.
  • noun In general, training; discipline; treatment.
  • noun Management.
  • noun 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.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To have under control and direction; to conduct; to guide; to administer; to treat; to handle.
  • transitive verb 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.
  • transitive verb To train in the manege, as a horse; to exercise in graceful or artful action.
  • transitive verb To treat with care; to husband.
  • transitive verb To bring about; to contrive.
  • noun obsolete The handling or government of anything, but esp. of a horse; management; administration. See manege.
  • intransitive verb To direct affairs; to carry on business or affairs; to administer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To direct or be in charge of.
  • verb transitive To handle or control (a situation, job).
  • verb transitive To handle wth skill, wield (a tool, weapon etc.).
  • verb intransitive To succeed at an attempt
  • verb intransitive To achieve without fuss, or without outside help.
  • noun The act of managing or controlling something.
  • noun horseriding Manège.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb come to terms with
  • verb carry on or function
  • verb watch and direct
  • verb achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
  • verb be successful; achieve a goal
  • verb be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
  • verb handle effectively

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian maneggiare, from Vulgar Latin *manidiāre, from Latin manus, hand; see man- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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 mano, from Latin manus ("the hand"); see manual.

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