regulate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
regulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
regulated,
past participle, past
-
regulating
present participle
-
to control or direct by a rule, principle, method, etc..
The statute is intended to regulate the business practices of architects by establishing a code of professional conduct.
-
to adjust to some standard or requirement, as amount, degree, etc..
A film was applied to the windows to help regulate the temperature and reduce glare.
- Synonyms:
- set
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to adjust so as to ensure accuracy of operation.
If the watch is consistently off, it can be fixed relatively simply by regulating the beat rate.
-
to put or keep something in good order or within reasonable limits.
Playful interactions with adult caregivers help children develop the ability to regulate their emotions and behavior.
- Synonyms:
- balance
-
Biology. to adjust or adapt (a bodily process or function) in response to external stimuli.
-
Genetics. to control the expression of (a gene or genes).
verb
-
to adjust (the amount of heat, sound, etc, of something) as required; control
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to adjust (an instrument or appliance) so that it operates correctly
-
to bring into conformity with a rule, principle, or usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overregulateverb
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misregulateverb (used with object)
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preregulateverb (used with object)
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reregulateverb (used with object)
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nonregulatedadjective
-
nonregulativeadjective
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quasi-regulatedadjective
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regulativeadjective
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regulatoryadjective
-
unregulatedadjective
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unregulativeadjective
-
well-regulatedadjective
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regulativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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regulatesimple
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regulatessimple
-
have regulatedperfect
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has regulatedperfect
-
am regulatingprogressive
-
are regulatingprogressive
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is regulatingprogressive
-
have been regulatingperfect progressive
-
has been regulatingperfect progressive
Past
-
regulatedsimple
-
had regulatedperfect
-
was regulatingprogressive
-
were regulatingprogressive
-
had been regulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of regulate
First recorded in 1620–30, from Late Latin rēgulātus (past participle of rēgulāre “to direct”); see regula, -ate 1
Explanation
The on-off spigot regulates the flow of water into your bathtub. When a government regulates an industry, they set standards the industry must follow. To regulate means to impose control. Regulate shares a root with the word, regular. When the transit authority regulates a train schedule, it makes sure trains arrive on a more regular schedule. The pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated –– before a drug can be marketed, it must be tested. On a more personal level, if you want to regulate your digestive system, try eating more fiber... or prunes!
Vocabulary lists containing regulate
Florida EOC Civics
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The Articles of Confederation (1777)
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This Week In Words: September 5–11, 2020
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The findings indicate that CRH helps regulate the timing of OPC maturation.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Congress should protect scholarships, regulate agents and help preserve Olympic sports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
He also said there is space to both regulate and give AI more freedom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
"You don't want to regulate the outdoors too much but this is what can happen when people don't do their research or go into the unknown," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
After the Rupture, her people—the Gedes—had been dwindled down by war and poverty, easy to divide and regulate.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
"The important thing is we've got a system which regulates universities on outcomes," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
It isn’t yet entirely clear who regulates prediction markets and how, and markets have regularly clashed with state officials trying to rein them in.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
“It’s an unusual benefit,” said Marc Owens, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who spent a decade overseeing the division at the IRS that regulates nonprofits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
These measures reflect how effectively the body regulates blood sugar and responds to insulin, the hormone that helps move glucose from the bloodstream into cells.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Why, the law of supply and demand regulates the price of houses.”
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Rejecting an appeal by the family, Migration Court of Appeal documents state "when weighing up the state's interest in regulated immigration" and Mason's "private life", it determined expulsion was "proportionate".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
“If you listen to earnings calls from most U.S. regulated utilities, they’ll mostly be about AI and data centers. In Europe, we find a very compelling range of long-term drivers,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
China's motorbike sales fell 3.4 percent in 2025, and slid again this year as consumers increasingly favour cars or less regulated electric bikes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
Next week, Inlyte plans to deliver its first battery pack to Southern Company, which operates regulated utilities in four states, at its Wilsonville, Ala., energy-storage facility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Research on inmates would come under scrutiny and start being heavily regulated about fifteen years later, because they’d be considered a vulnerable population unable to give informed consent.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
In the same way that the reason why you’re seeing larger numbers of elected officials talk about regulating data centers is because they are reading the public temperature.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Oceans absorb most of the excess heat caused by humanity's carbon emissions and therefore play a key role in regulating the climate.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
But since that law was signed, the shuttering of two major refineries in the state has left lawmakers and agencies skittish about regulating the facilities before electric vehicles have displaced the demand for gas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
But every rule proposed today should be tested against a simple counterfactual: had it been on the books a decade ago, would the firm we are now regulating have ever been built?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
When Gong demanded a feed dog—a crucial part of a sewing machine that controls stitch size by regulating the speed of fabric moving to the needle—from a seamstress who worked with Shin, she curtly refused.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
