manage

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive

   To run a business, team, or project by directing the people and making the decisions that keep it working.

   Grammar: Takes an object: manage a store, not manage to a store.

   Patterns

   • manage something
   • manage someone

   She manages a small bakery on Fifth Street.

   He was hired to manage the new customer support team.

   It is hard to manage a project when the goals keep changing.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitive

   To succeed in doing something that is difficult, or to cope with a hard situation.

   Grammar: Often followed by to plus a verb: managed to finish. It can also stand alone: I can manage.

   Patterns

   • manage to do something
   • manage without something
   • manage with something

   We managed to catch the last train home.

   I can't carry all of these, but I'll manage.

   They managed on very little money for a year.

3. 3verbtransitive

   To handle or keep something under control, such as time, a feeling, or a health condition.

   Grammar: Takes an object: manage your stress, manage your time.

   Patterns

   • manage something

   Regular exercise helps her manage her stress.

   He manages his diabetes with diet and medication.

Word forms

Common combinations

manage a team

She manages a team of ten engineers.

manage to do something

He managed to fix the leak himself.

manage your time

Students need to learn to manage their time.

manage expectations

The coach tried to manage expectations before the season.

barely manage

They could barely manage the rent after the price rise.

Synonyms and how they differ

run

Run is more informal and suggests day-to-day operation of a business, while manage can also mean coping with a problem.

supervise

Supervise focuses on watching over people's work, not on making wider decisions about the whole operation.

cope

Cope means to deal with a difficult situation and never takes an object directly, while manage can mean to succeed at a specific task.

handle

Handle stresses dealing with a particular task or situation, and suggests less long-term responsibility than manage.

Opposites

Word family

manager noun

a person who runs a business, team, or department

management noun

the act of running something, or the people who run it

manageable adjective

possible to deal with or control

unmanageable adjective

too difficult to control or deal with

mismanage verb

to run something badly

Commonly confused: manage or administer?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “manage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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