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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

The pathway identified in the new study may offer another strategy: strengthening a natural process the body already uses to bring inflammation under control.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

The group claims it has control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, though it says maritime navigation is "safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels".

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

But in their 15th meeting on this surface, Rybakina found extra control when she needed it most.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Failure to control A.I., then, points to a lack of imagination from the creator, not from the genius of the machine.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

I do damage control on my cookies and cream, licking around the circumference of the cone to avoid getting sticky, but it’s no use.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

"For the first time, we observed that IBD patients and healthy controls were eating similar amounts of plant-based foods yet CD patients still had more oxalate in their stool," said Dr. Salvador.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

Tech industry groups such as TechNet say that lawmakers should enforce current laws to strengthen parental controls rather than pass new ones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

OpenAI halted training of its latest models for two weeks in August before resuming it under tighter controls.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

De la Espriella insisted that the decree would not create a free-for-all and that tight controls over who can own a gun would remain in place.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

I stand at the cockpit’s controls, trying everything I know, but the shuttle doesn’t respond.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

When tested in mouse models of ovarian cancer and melanoma, a single dose of the engineered cells, known as AlloESO-T cells, controlled tumor growth and helped the animals survive longer without producing dangerous side effects.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

In the following years, she fought for controlled heroin programmes and against the death penalty and world hunger.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

The crypto in the wallets was USDT, a type of digital coin that is centrally controlled by the company Tether.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Prosecutors say Brass was also known by the nickname “Lord” and controlled a company named Pinnacle Brass LLC.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

The controlled binding and unbinding of iron and oxygen—the cyclical rusting and unrusting of blood—allows effective oxygen delivery into tissues.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Creating and controlling the required quantum states has traditionally involved guiding a quantum system through thousands of repeated driving cycles.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

But even after controlling for higher interest rates and economic uncertainty, large-cap stocks tend to exhibit increasing relative strength as the end of the year approaches.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

There have been calls for alternative methods to vaccination for controlling the infection among cattle, such as badger culling, as they can carry the disease and transmit it to cattle.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Head Start’s regulations have swollen to 120-plus pages, controlling everything from the square footage of outdoor play space to transportation routing and myriad paper credentials for staff.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

I’m controlling my breathing and bracing myself for anything as we walk up the porch, to the front door.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Related Words

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