administration

administration — noun

1. the everyday paperwork, planning, and decisions involved in keeping a company, s

1.nounC1
Definition

the everyday paperwork, planning, and decisions involved in keeping a company, school, or project working as it should.

Example

Uri spends most Mondays on the administration of the small bakery.

administration of + organization noun

The new software is meant to cut the cost of school administration by half.

modifier + administration (school administration)

Common collocations
  • day-to-day administration
  • school administration
  • project administration
  • the administration of the business
Synonyms
  • management

    broader; covers strategy as well as paperwork

  • running

    informal; used as a noun ('the running of the company')

  • operations

    focuses on the doing side of a business, less on planning

Grammar Patterns

administration of [noun]

Usage Note

Uncountable in this sense and often paired with a modifier naming the field (school, hospital, project, business). Distinguish from sense 2: here the focus is the work, not the people doing it.

Common Mistakes

There are many administrations to finish before lunch.
There is a lot of administration to finish before lunch.
uncountable in this sense; do not pluralise.

2. the group of senior staff who run a company, university, or other institution an

2.nounC2
Definition

the group of senior staff who run a company, university, or other institution and make the big decisions about how it works.

Example

Students wrote a letter asking the university administration to lower tuition fees.

the [institution] administration

The hospital administration agreed to hire ten extra nurses for the night shift.

subject of decision verb

Common collocations
  • the school administration
  • hospital administration
  • company administration
  • senior administration
Synonyms
  • management

    more common in business; can mean fewer, more senior people

  • leadership

    highlights the top decision-makers and their direction

  • executive

    the most senior layer only

Antonyms
  • staff

    the workers who are managed, rather than those managing

Grammar Patterns

the administration of [organization]

Usage Note

Subject is usually an institution (school, hospital, university, company), and the administration is treated as a group that decides or approves things. Distinguish from sense 1, which is the work itself, not the people.

Common Mistakes

She is an administration at the school.
She works in the administration at the school.
refers to the group, not one individual.

3. a national government, especially in the United States, named after its presiden

3.nounC2
Definition

a national government, especially in the United States, named after its president or prime minister, and the time during which they hold office.

Example

The Obama administration signed several major climate agreements with other countries.

the [President] administration

Tax laws changed sharply under the new administration.

under the administration

Common collocations
  • the previous administration
  • under the administration
  • the Biden administration
  • current administration
Synonyms
  • government

    preferred in British English; broader, can include parliament

  • regime

    often negative, suggesting strict or undemocratic rule

  • presidency

    focuses on the president's term, not the wider team

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

the [Name] administration

Usage Note

Most common in American English; British speakers more often say 'the government'. Frequently capitalised with a leader's surname (the Biden Administration). Distinguish from sense 2: this one always means a national executive, not a school or company's leaders.

Common Mistakes

In the UK, the Cameron administration won the election.
In the UK, the Cameron government won the election.
outside the US, 'government' is the natural word.

4. the action of putting a medicine, vaccine, or other substance into a patient's b

4.noun
Definition

the action of putting a medicine, vaccine, or other substance into a patient's body, for example by injection, drip, or by mouth.

Example

The nurse recorded the time of administration of each painkiller in the chart.

administration of [drug]

Oral administration of the vaccine made it easier to use in remote villages.

oral / intravenous + administration

Common collocations
  • oral administration
  • intravenous administration
  • administration of the vaccine
  • repeated administration
Synonyms
  • giving

    everyday alternative; less formal

  • delivery

    common with vaccines and drugs delivered by device

  • dosing

    focuses on the size and timing of each dose

Grammar Patterns

administration of [drug] to [person]

Usage Note

Formal medical register; in everyday speech people simply say 'giving' the medicine. Often paired with method words such as oral, intravenous, or topical.

Common Mistakes

My mum gave me the administration of the cough syrup.
My mum gave me the cough syrup.
in casual speech use 'give', not 'administration'.

5. a UK legal procedure in which an outside expert temporarily takes over a struggl

5.noun
Definition

a UK legal procedure in which an outside expert temporarily takes over a struggling business unable to repay creditors, aiming to rescue it or sell parts before closure.

Example

The retailer went into administration after sales fell for three years in a row.

go into administration

Two hundred staff lost their jobs when the airline entered administration last week.

enter administration

Common collocations
  • go into administration
  • enter administration
  • come out of administration
  • be placed in administration
Synonyms
  • receivership

    older British term; an outsider takes control to repay creditors

  • insolvency

    broader umbrella term for being unable to pay debts

  • Chapter 11

    American equivalent for company rescue procedures

Antonyms
  • solvency

    the healthy state of being able to pay debts

Grammar Patterns

go into administration

be in administration

Usage Note

Mainly British English and used about companies, not people. Almost always appears in fixed phrases like 'go into administration' or 'be in administration'. Distinguish from sense 1 (general office work) — this is a specific legal status.

Common Mistakes

The shop is in an administration.
The shop is in administration.
no article in this fixed phrase.
My uncle went into administration last year.
My uncle's company went into administration last year.
this status applies to a business, not a person.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/3

All four words name a country's top political team, but they sit at different points on the formality and tone scale. 'Administration' is the standard American label, usually paired with a president's surname (the Biden administration) and covering both the people and their term in office. 'Government' is the British equivalent and a safer general choice in international writing — it can also include parliament, not just the executive. 'Regime' carries a strong negative flavour: news outlets use it for governments seen as harsh or undemocratic. 'Presidency' zooms in on the president alone and the period of their leadership, not the wider team. So you might write 'the Trump administration' in a U.S. report, 'the Sunak government' in a U.K. paper, 'the military regime' in a critical article, and 'during her presidency' when discussing one leader's legacy.

administration ↗government ↗regime ↗presidency ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • administration costs
  • administration fee
  • administration staff
  • administration office

Adverbs

  • badly run administration
  • well-organized administration

Phrases

  • the cost of administration
  • go into administration
  • the previous administration
  • day-to-day administration

Prepositions

  • under the administration
  • during the administration
  • in administration
  • into administration

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

From Latin 'administratio', built on 'ad-' ('to, toward') plus 'ministrare' ('to serve or attend to'), so the original idea was 'serving or helping with a task'. It entered English through Old French in the late 1300s, first meaning the act of running affairs, especially religious or royal ones. The 'group of people who govern' meaning grew in the 1700s, and the specifically American sense (a president and their team) took hold in the early 1800s. The medical sense — giving a drug — comes from the same root idea of 'attending to' the patient.