remote control

American  

noun

• remote controls
  plural

1. control of the operation or performance of an apparatus from a distance, as the control of a guided missile by radio signals.

2. Also called remote. a device used to control the operation of an apparatus or machine, as a television set, from a distance.

---

remote control British  

noun

1. control of a system or activity by a person at a different place, usually by means of radio or ultrasonic signals or by electrical signals transmitted by wire

2. Also:: remote. a hand-held device that enables remote control of a system or appliance

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• remote-control
  adjective
• remote-controlled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• remote controls
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of remote control

First recorded in 1900–05

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

remote control

Click your remote control and you have an 11-foot-wide image on a white wall — a sort of private screening room.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

"A country cannot be governed by remote control while critical socioeconomic challenges go unaddressed," he said last week.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

"That momentary satisfaction, when you have taken revenge by taking the remote control into your own hands and seen the results of your work with your own eyes."

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

The race penalized the completion times of those relying on constant human remote control, including one that finished the race in under 50 minutes, according to the organizer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

And now Mini was shaking it like a remote control that had stopped working.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---