control freak

American

a person having a strong need for control over people or situations.

control freak British

noun

a person with an obsessive need to be in control of what is happening

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of control freak

1975–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

control freak

"Ben is a young kid, a control freak," said Amorim.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2025

Are you a risk taker or are you more of a control freak?

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2024

Toomey, who managed to get to safety after the crash, was described as a "control freak with a savage temper" by Ms Bell's mother, the court heard.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2024

“It was terrifying,” said Rewitzer, who described himself as having been a workaholic and control freak.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

This is what a control freak learns inside the compressed otherworld of college, maybe above all else: There are simply other ways of being.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023