administer
ad·min·is·ter / ədˈminəstər/ • v. [tr.] 1. manage and be responsible for the running of (a business, organization, etc.). ∎ be responsible for the implementation or use of (law or resources).2. dispense or apply (a remedy or drug). ∎ deal out or inflict (punishment): retribution was administered to those found guilty. ∎ (of a priest) perform the rites of (a sacrament, typically the Eucharist). ∎ archaic or Law direct the taking of (an oath): the chief justice will administer the oath of office.3. [intr.] give help or service: we must selflessly administer to his needs.DERIVATIVES: ad·min·is·tra·ble / -strəbəl/ adj.
Administer
ADMINISTER
To give an oath, as to administer the oath of office to the president at the inauguration. To direct the transactions of business or government. Immigration laws are administered largely by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. To take care of affairs, as an executor administers the estate of a deceased person. To directly cause the ingestion of medications or poisons. To apply a court decree, enforce its provisions, or resolve disputes concerning its meaning.
School teachers generally are not authorized to administer medicines that pupils take to school, for example.
When divorced parents cannot agree on how to administer a visitation provision in a judgment granting child custody to one of them, they might have to return to court for clarification from the judge.