control

[ kuhn-trohl ]

verb (used with object)

, con·trolled, con·trol·ling.

1. to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate: command:

   The car is difficult to control at high speeds.

   That zone is controlled by enemy troops.

   Synonyms: rule, govern, manage

2. to hold in check; curb:

   to control a horse;

   to control one's emotions.

   Synonyms: constrain, bridle, restrain

3. to test or verify (a scientific experiment) by a parallel experiment or other standard of comparison.
4. to eliminate or prevent the flourishing or spread of:

   to control a forest fire.

5. Biology. (of an organism) to initiate an internal response to external stimuli.
6. Obsolete. to check or regulate (transactions), originally by means of a duplicate register.

noun

1. the act or power of controlling; regulation; domination or command:

   Who's in control here?

   Synonyms: mastery, rule, reign, dominion

2. the situation of being under the regulation, domination, or command of another:

   The car is out of control.

3. check or restraint:

   Her anger is under control.

4. a legal or official means of regulation or restraint:

   to institute wage and price controls.

5. Statistics. control variable ( def 1 ).
6. a person who acts as a check; controller.
7. a device for regulating and guiding a machine, as a motor or airplane.
8. controls, a coordinated arrangement of such devices.
9. prevention of the flourishing or spread of something undesirable:

   rodent control.

10. Biology. an organism’s ability to initiate an internal response to external stimuli ( regulation ).
11. Baseball. the ability of a pitcher to throw the ball into the strike zone consistently:

    The rookie pitcher has great power but no control.

12. Philately. any device printed on a postage or revenue stamp to authenticate it as a government issue or to identify it for bookkeeping purposes.
13. a spiritual agency believed to assist a medium at a séance.
14. the supervisor to whom an espionage agent reports when in the field.

verb phrase

1. Statistics. to account for (variables in an analysis) by limiting the data under consideration to a comparison of like things:

   to control for demographic factors.

control

/ kənˈtrəʊl /

verb

1. to command, direct, or rule

   to control a country

2. to check, limit, curb, or regulate; restrain

   to control a fire

   to control one's emotions

3. to regulate or operate (a machine)
4. to verify (a scientific experiment) by conducting a parallel experiment in which the variable being investigated is held constant or is compared with a standard
5. 1. to regulate (financial affairs)
   2. to examine and verify (financial accounts)
6. to restrict or regulate the authorized supply of (certain substances, such as drugs)

noun

1. power to direct or determine

   under control

   out of control

2. a means of regulation or restraint; curb; check

   a frontier control

3. often plural a device or mechanism for operating a car, aircraft, etc
4. a standard of comparison used in a statistical analysis or scientific experiment
5. 1. a device that regulates the operation of a machine. A dynamic control is one that incorporates a governor so that it responds to the output of the machine it regulates
   2. ( as modifier )

      control panel

      control room

6. spiritualism an agency believed to assist the medium in a séance
7. Also calledcontrol mark a letter, or letter and number, printed on a sheet of postage stamps, indicating authenticity, date, and series of issue
8. one of a number of checkpoints on a car rally, orienteering course, etc, where competitors check in and their time, performance, etc, is recorded

control

/ kən-trōl′ /

1. A standard of comparison for checking or verifying the results of an experiment. In an experiment to test the effectiveness of a new drug, for example, one group of subjects (the control group) receives an inactive substance or placebo , while a comparison group receives the drug being tested.

Derived Forms

• conˈtrollable, adjective
• conˈtrollably, adverb
• conˌtrollaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• con·trol·la·ble adjective noun
• con·trol·la·bil·i·ty [k, uh, n-troh-l, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], con·trol·la·ble·ness noun
• con·trol·la·bly adverb
• con·trol·less adjective
• con·trol·ling·ly adverb
• non·con·trol·la·ble adjective
• non·con·trol·la·bly adverb
• non·con·trolled adjective
• non·con·trol·ling adjective
• o·ver·con·trol verb (used with object) overcontrolled overcontrolling noun
• pre·con·trol noun verb (used with object) precontrolled precontrolling
• qua·si-con·trolled adjective
• qua·si-con·trol·ling adjective
• sub·con·trol verb (used with object) subcontrolled subcontrolling
• su·per·con·trol noun
• un·con·trolled adjective
• un·con·trol·ling adjective
• well-con·trolled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of control¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English co(u)ntrollen (verb), from Anglo-French contreroller “to keep a duplicate account or roll,” derivative of contrerolle (noun); counter-, roll

Word History and Origins

Origin of control¹

C15: from Old French conteroller to regulate, from contrerolle duplicate register, system of checking, from contre- counter- + rolle roll

Idioms and Phrases

see out of control ; spin control .

Example Sentences

"We found that the A3 reaction was not only efficient, but also flexible enough to allow for precise control over the lipids' molecular structure," says Mitchell.

From Science Daily

For example, using an AI system to intelligently control traffic in a congested city could help motorists reach their destinations faster, while improving safety or sustainability.

From Science Daily

In the case of traffic, a model might struggle to control a set of intersections with different speed limits, numbers of lanes, or traffic patterns.

From Science Daily

In the case of traffic signal control, each task could be one intersection in a task space that includes all intersections in the city.

From Science Daily

To train an algorithm to control traffic lights at many intersections in a city, an engineer would typically choose between two main approaches.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• authority
• curb
• discipline
• domination
• force
• government
• jurisdiction
• management
• oversight
• regulation
• restraint
• restriction
• rule
• supervision