control

American  

[kuhn-trohl] / kənˈtroʊl /

verb (used with object)

controls, present (3rd person singular) controlled, past participle, past controlling present participle

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.

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noun

controls plural

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.

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 (distinguished from 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. control for 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 British  

/ kənˈtrəʊl /

verb

1. to command, direct, or rule

   to control a country

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

   to control one's emotions

   to control a fire

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)

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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 called: control 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 Scientific  

/ 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.

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control Idioms  

1. see out of control; spin control.

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Usage

What does control mean? To control is to dominate or command something or someone, as in Tomas showed excellent control of his hand several weeks after his surgery. As a noun, control can refer to the act of controlling, as in I can’t stand it—my parents have total control over my life!To control is also to restrain or keep in check, as in Toddlers are not known for control over their emotions. Control can also refer to keeping something in check. When you keep your emotions under control, you still feel them but you don’t let them overwhelm you. To control can also mean to eliminate the spread of something, such as with a fire or an illness. In statistics, to control for means to compare only like data to reduce the number of variables in the comparison. Example: Who has control of the lights for tonight’s show?

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• controllability
  noun
• controllableness
  noun
• precontrol
  noun
• supercontrol
  noun
• overcontrol
  verb (used with object)
• subcontrol
  verb (used with object)
• controllable
  adjective
• controlless
  adjective
• noncontrollable
  adjective
• noncontrolled
  adjective
• noncontrolling
  adjective
• quasi-controlled
  adjective
• quasi-controlling
  adjective
• uncontrolled
  adjective
• uncontrolling
  adjective
• well-controlled
  adjective
• controllably
  adverb
• controllingly
  adverb
• noncontrollably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• controls
  plural

Participles

• controlling
  present
• controlled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• control
  simple
• controls
  simple
• have controlled
  perfect
• has controlled
  perfect
• am controlling
  progressive
• are controlling
  progressive
• is controlling
  progressive
• have been controlling
  perfect progressive
• has been controlling
  perfect progressive

Past

• controlled
  simple
• had controlled
  perfect
• was controlling
  progressive
• were controlling
  progressive
• had been controlling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will control
  simple
• will have controlled
  perfect
• will be controlling
  progressive
• will have been controlling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of control

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); see counter-, roll

Explanation

To have control is to have the power to run something in an orderly way. A skillful teacher maintains control over students who might otherwise waste time or be disruptive. A control can also be a device used to operate a machine, like the remote control for a television. The control in an experiment is the group that gets left alone so scientists can compare "before and after" changes in other groups. The verb control means "to be in charge." If you're a group's treasurer, you control its finances. It can also mean "hold back." You might need to control your hyperactive puppy when the mail carrier comes around.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

control controls controlled controlling

River is primarily treated as a flood control channel, so park rangers carefully monitor for rain when the recreation zones open for leisure, like kayaking, during the summer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

A British Overseas Territory of around 40,000 inhabitants, Gibraltar has a border control for those entering and leaving.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Even the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ command and control over its components is uncertain, due in part to Iran’s longstanding defensive strategy to decentralize authority, which it executed at the war’s outset.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Thai national police said in a social media post at around 2:00 am Monday that the fire had been "brought under control".

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

Learn to maintain an air of total control despite the circumstances swirling around you.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

It says China's chemical industry is "massive", with 160,000 companies, and despite steps by authorities to implement controls, oversight is "insufficiently staffed and equipped".

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

The aortic valve controls blood leaving the heart, and aortic stenosis develops when this valve becomes thick, stiff, and narrow.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

Western biotechs are getting a new playbook with tighter controls to stay ahead of an ultraefficient pharmaceutical pipeline overseas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

And it also criticised Meta's parental controls, arguing they are only effective if parents have the time and technical expertise to understand and use them properly.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

It was all brushed steel with digital readouts and touch-sensitive controls.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

It noted that the country scheduled all fentanyl-related substances in 2019, which means they are tightly controlled by the government.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Because synthetic rotation can imitate motion beyond the speed of light, researchers now have a controlled laboratory platform for exploring physical regimes that would otherwise be impossible to study directly.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

The comforting reality is that the ballots are controlled by thousands of different state and local officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The artwork, which chronicles scenes from the 1066 Battle of Hastings and the start of the Norman Conquest of England, was held in a shock-proof and temperature controlled case to protect the delicate embroidery.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Yet many of these localized functions are also controlled by interactions with other parts of the brain.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

“Financial independence is controlling your own future,” said Greg Welborn, an adviser in Pasadena, Calif. “It’s knowing if you lost your income, how you’d recover.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

A major challenge is controlling what happens after each droplet lands on a surface.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

Peter Rowlinson, who lives in Los Gallardos, praised the efforts of authorities in controlling the fire but said the experience had been "very frightening".

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

When Dino did chime in with advice, it was often about controlling the strike zone, being a complete hitter rather than just a slugger, and valuing fundamentals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Either way, I’m glad he’s with us, even if it means his girlfriend is controlling the radio in the passenger seat.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• administer
• command
• conduct
• dominate
• govern
• handle
• lead
• manage
• manipulate
• oversee
• regulate
• rule
• run
• supervise