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

The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, revealed two notable strategies that influenza A appears to use when taking control of a cell.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

By contrast, canals such as Panama or Suez, which are man‑made waterways, may be subject to tolls levied by the states that control them.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

In “Young Men and Fire” he vividly narrates how a wildfire the crew initially expected to control suddenly erupts into a “blowup,” a wall of flame racing uphill faster than the young men can run.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Rais Vohra, medical director of the state poison control system, said the reported bites may not represent all snakebites because the agency relies on voluntary reporting from the public and healthcare professionals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

The flies had taken her beyond control and when she saw me her eyes opened wide in surprise, then seemed to narrow in cold rage.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

These far side samples provide the first direct physical evidence that Earth's magnetosphere controls the speed of solar wind particles reaching different parts of the Moon.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

It’s also possible that the hints about export controls are diplomatic posturing by the Chinese government, intended to discourage the U.S. from imposing any restrictions on its technological freedoms.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

The agreement comes as Panama complains its boats are suffering tighter controls in China, following the cancellation of a Hong Kong company's concession to operate two ports in the Panama Canal.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

Rigid price controls helped flood local markets with cheap rebar and cement that stoked a construction boom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

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

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

It was controlled by various armed groups throughout the war, he said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

In laboratory experiments and controlled applications on skin, the tetrapod sunscreen produced a warmer appearance that more closely matched natural skin tones.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

Here, mezzo Simona Genga displayed an impressively large, imperfectly controlled instrument.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Look at how he controlled the game and pulled the strings when Argentina chased England down in a dramatic semi-final.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

The northern armies controlled much of the homeland of the Dinka.

From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau

Elon Musk is the founder, chief executive and controlling shareholder of SpaceX.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Even if OpenAI’s and Anthropic’s controlling mission directors are needed to protect humanity, investors should be wary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Lime, with one long-term shareholder, George M. Doumet, controlling a stake of more than 60% through Inberdon Enterprises, as verified by FactSet.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Above them all is Bill Nighy’s controlling Director, whom you are free to dislike even though it’s Bill Nighy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

At fourteen dollars a month, his duties included controlling the mules along the canal’s towpath as they pulled the boat, which was loaded with supplies such as lumber, coal, iron, or copper ore.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

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