restrict
Americanverb (used with object)
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restricts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
restricted,
past participle, past
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restricting
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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restricternoun
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restrictornoun
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derestrictverb (used with object)
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overrestrictverb (used with object)
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prerestrictverb (used with object)
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nonrestrictingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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restrictsimple
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restrictssimple
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have restrictedperfect
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has restrictedperfect
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am restrictingprogressive
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are restrictingprogressive
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is restrictingprogressive
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have been restrictingperfect progressive
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has been restrictingperfect progressive
Past
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restrictedsimple
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had restrictedperfect
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was restrictingprogressive
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were restrictingprogressive
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had been restrictingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of restrict
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin restrictus “drawn back, tightened, bound, reserved,” adjective use of past participle of restringere “to bind back, bind fast”; see restrain
Explanation
To restrict is to limit. If you want to eat more healthily, you might restrict, or limit, yourself to eating only foods containing fruits and vegetables –- like carrot cake and apple pie. You'll often encounter different words related to restrict. A restriction is a law or rule, like the restriction against driving a car without a license. Something that is not permitted is restricted, and this word is often used to designate physical locations that are off limits to the public. You'll often see characters in movies break into restricted areas to obtain secret information.
Vocabulary lists containing restrict
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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List 9
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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:
Alongside efforts to restrict access and harmful information, the researchers suggest that emergency services could take additional steps to reduce the consequences of sodium nitrite poisoning.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
A growing number of countries are taking steps to restrict social media access amid multiplying warnings over its harmful effects on children.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Those potential costs led many state Medicaid programs and some health plans to restrict coverage of the drug to the sickest patients.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
In politics news, it reports that the PM's proposals to restrict zero hours contracts could impose costs up to £3bn a year on businesses.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
But periodic attempts to discipline bribe takers, restrict market activities, force servi-cha vehicles off the road, and confiscate cash were met with widespread resistance.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
They are also protected under CITES, an international agreement that tightly restricts trade in endangered species.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The United States restricts exports to China of the most cutting-edge silicon chips used to power artificial intelligence systems, designed by industry leader Nvidia.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Chinese AI executives have expressed concern that they will struggle to close the gap with the U.S. because Washington restricts China’s access to the world’s best chips and chip-making equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
A narrow pelvis improves locomotion, but restricts the birth canal’s size.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
The “no hair” theorem is of great practical importance, because it so greatly restricts the possible types of black holes.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
At universities, the ban has restricted access to online research and course materials, with one Herat student saying he had used his phone to help with about half the syllabus.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Access to an airline’s top-tier airport lounge may be restricted or not included at all.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
At La Albufera National Park, a protected coastal wetland covering 21,000 hectares south of Valencia, officials have spent the past week turning away or ejecting unauthorized onlookers attempting to enter restricted areas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
When electrons are restricted to a two-dimensional plane and interact strongly enough, they can begin behaving very differently from ordinary electrons.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
A teacher once reported you for sneaking into a restricted area of the library, looking for old military texts.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
"I do not believe restricting access to foreign open source models is an effective solution," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Washington’s manic quarantining of cruise-ship passengers, its restricting of foreign entry, probably did next to nothing to slow spread until a vaccine and the less-virulent omicron variants arrived, which took a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
If the Strait of Hormuz remains impaired and China continues restricting phosphate exports, nitrogen producers with secure, low-cost inputs should remain better positioned than phosphate producers dependent on imported sulfur.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The 1.5°C limit refers to the goal of restricting long-term global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial temperatures.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
I would like to claim an immediate fury which was followed by the noble determination to break the restricting tradition.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
