Meaning & use
administer
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To manage or direct the running of an organization, system or program.
Grammar: Takes an object: administer a fund.
Patterns
- administer something
The trustees administer the school fund.
She administers the city's housing program.
A small team administers the website.
verbtransitivemedical
To give someone a drug or treatment in a formal way.
Grammar: Often administer something to someone: administer medicine to a patient.
Patterns
- administer something to someone
The nurse administered the injection.
Oxygen was administered at the scene.
Only trained staff may administer the drug.
verbtransitiveformal
To give out or carry out something official such as a test, justice or punishment.
Grammar: Typical objects: a test, justice, an oath.
Patterns
- administer a test
- administer justice
The teacher administered the exam.
The judge administered the oath.
The court administers justice fairly.
Word forms
| third person singular | administers |
|---|---|
| past tense | administered |
| past participle | administered |
| -ing form | administering |
Common combinations
- administer medication
- Nurses administer medication on schedule.
- administer a test
- The school will administer a test on Monday.
- administer justice
- Judges administer justice.
- administer an oath
- The clerk administered an oath.
- administer a fund
- She administers a charity fund.
- administer first aid
- He administered first aid at the scene.
Synonyms and how they differ
- manage
- Manage is everyday and covers any running of a business, while administer stresses handling rules and paperwork.
- dispense
- Dispense means giving out portions, such as medicine, but not overseeing.
- oversee
- Oversee means watching over work, not doing it directly.
- give
- Give is plain and informal, whereas administer is formal and often medical.
Opposites
Word family
- administration noun
- the running of an organization, or a government team
- administrator noun
- a person who manages an organization
- administrative adjective
- relating to running an organization
- administrable adjective
- able to be given or managed
Commonly confused: administer or minister?
administer vs minister
Minister as a verb means to care for people, while administer means to manage or give out.
Practice
The nurse will ____ the vaccine to each patient.
Choose one answer.
Administer means to give a drug formally. The others do not take this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “administer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.