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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

I try to focus on things I can control.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

And, for others, there is a certain hubris seen in tech leaders chasing a technology that on one hand promises to make them incredibly wealthy while also suggesting it is only safe within their control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

The Microsoft co-founder said the risk of AI "getting out of control" remained years away and emphasized that the immediate concern was "bad people" using existing systems without safeguards.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Employees shouldn’t have to manufacture delight on demand while working short-staffed shifts for inadequate pay, fielding customer complaints about things outside their control.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

At 4:55 they’ll line up single file and enter the control room, church-mouse quiet, and stand behind each of us at their assigned stations.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

An off-duty pilot travelling on the plane was then able to take the controls and land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

They added that offenders released early on licence faced the "toughest-ever controls", including exclusion zones and the expansion of electronic tagging.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

"We take that responsibility seriously and have already taken additional steps to further strengthen security controls," it said.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Capital controls bottle up household nest eggs within the country’s borders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

But they couldn’t use the Doors without someone manning the controls for twelve long minutes.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

He extended his partnership with captain Pat Cummins in the morning session to 86 and then expertly controlled a stand of 134 with number 10 Nathan Lyon to frustrate and tire South Africa's bowlers.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

The number of witnesses to federal and state executions is tightly controlled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The Houthis, whose heartlands are among the Zaidi Shia Muslims in the northwest, had already controlled the capital Sanaa and most of Yemen's major population centres since the start of the war in 2014.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The excess immune cells can then die through apoptosis, a controlled form of programmed cell death that allows the body to remove unneeded, damaged or cancerous cells without causing inflammation or harming nearby tissue.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

A translator explained he was part owner of the hotel as well as a local oligarch who controlled Siberian gas and oil fields.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

By carefully controlling the laser's power and beam diameter, the researchers can ionize a narrow region of air, stripping electrons from atoms and molecules to produce plasma.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026

"The Friedkin Group is exploring new investment options for Everton Football Club, including the potential sale of a controlling interest," TFG said.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Her early symptoms began in 2008 during her Taking Chances World Tour, when she experienced difficulty controlling her voice despite doctors saying her vocal cords appeared normal, she shared with Vogue in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Every detail down to the architecture controlling the drones’ depth perception has taken years to develop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Not even last-resort antibiotics are effective in controlling the diseases.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Related Words

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