I. kən.ˈtrōl transitive verb
( controlled ; controlled ; controlling ; controls )
Etymology: Middle English controllen, from Middle French conteroller, contreroller, from contrerolle, n.
1. obsolete : to check by a duplicate register or account : regulate
control accounts
2.
a. archaic : to check, test, or verify by counter or parallel evidence : verify by comparison
b. : to incorporate suitable controls in (as an experiment) or provide (as an experimental procedure) with suitable controls
devise controlled tests of the efficacy of a drug
3. obsolete : to call to account : censure
4.
a.
(1) : to exercise restraining or directing influence over : regulate , curb
control one's anger
controlling her interest in the enterprise
(2) : have power over : rule
a single company controls the industry
b. obsolete : overpower
c. : to reduce the incidence or severity of especially to innocuous levels
control an insect population
control a disease
Synonyms: see conduct
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle French contrerolle copy of an account, counter-register, verification, scrutiny, from contre- counter- + rolle roll, catalog, account — more at roll
1.
a. : the act or fact of controlling
man's increasing control over nature
: power or authority to guide or manage : directing or restraining domination
under parental control
the car went out of control on a curve
b. : effective and reliable skill in the use of a tool, instrument, technique or artistic medium
have control of several languages
the singer's control of her voice was perfect
a poet's control of a variety of metrical forms
a baseball pitcher needs control as well as speed
c. : regulation or direction in the use or application of an artistic medium resulting in proportion and appropriate emphasis
d. : reduction or regulation of wildlife population of an area by killing
e. : the regulation of economic activity especially by government directive
price controls
wage controls
rent control
— usually used in plural
f. : application of policies and procedures for directing, regulating, and coordinating production, administration, and other business activities in a way to achieve the objectives of the enterprise
2. : restraint , reserve
control of the passions
: self-restraint : possession and command of one's faculties
her hands wrung pale in effort at control — Amy Lowell
3. : a means or method of controlling : one that controls or determines: as
a. : something that affords a standard of comparison or means of verification (as an organism, culture, or group in a control experiment) : control experiment
half the dogs were injected, the others reserved as a control
a control group
b. : a hand-operated or automatic mechanism used to regulate or guide the operation of a machine or an apparatus or system (as a steam shovel, a radio, a heating system) — usually used in plural
c. : a system of relatively precise field measurements (as a traverse or a triangulation system) with which local secondary surveys may be tied in to ensure their essential accuracy
d. : a personality or spirit believed to actuate the utterances or performances of a spiritualist medium
e. : any of the physical factors (as latitude, altitude, ocean currents) determining the climate of a place
f. : any of the factors determining the nature of geological formations at a given place
g. : a recording device in the form of a letter or number or combination of letters and numbers in the margin of a sheet of British stamps printed between 1887 and 1948
h. : a control mark on a stamp
Synonyms: see power