curb vs govern

curb

verb
  • To check, restrain or control. 

  • To rein in. 

  • To bend or curve. 

  • To furnish with a curb, as a well; to restrain by a curb, as a bank of earth. 

  • To crouch; to cringe. 

  • To damage vehicle wheels or tires by running into or over a pavement curb. 

  • To bring to a stop beside a curb. 

noun
  • Something that checks or restrains; a restraint. 

  • A swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horse, just behind the lowest part of the hock joint, generally causing lameness. 

  • A concrete margin along the edge of a road; a kerb (UK, Australia, New Zealand) 

  • A riding or driving bit for a horse that has rein action which amplifies the pressure in the mouth by leverage advantage placing pressure on the poll via the crown piece of the bridle and chin groove via a curb chain. 

  • A sidewalk, covered or partially enclosed, bordering the airport terminal road system with adjacent paved areas to permit vehicles to off-load or load passengers. 

  • A raised margin along the edge of something, such as a well or the eye of a dome, as a strengthening. 

govern

verb
  • To control the actions or behavior of; to keep under control; to restrain. 

  • To require that a certain preposition, grammatical case, etc. be used with a word; sometimes used synonymously with collocate. 

  • To exercise a deciding or determining influence on. 

  • To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority in. 

  • To control the speed, flow etc. of; to regulate. 

  • To have or exercise a determining influence. 

  • To exercise political authority; to run a government. 

noun
  • The act of governing 

How often have the words curb and govern occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )