Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense restricts, present participle restricting, past tense, past participle restricted
1. verb
If you restrict something, you put a limit on it in order to reduce it or prevent it becoming too great.
There is talk of restricting the number of students on campus. [VERB noun]
...restricting imports to 0.6 billion pounds of sugar per year. [VERB noun + to]
Synonyms: limit, fix, regulate, specify More Synonyms of restrict
restriction (rɪstrɪkʃən)uncountable noun
Some restriction on funding was necessary.
Synonyms: control, rule, condition, check More Synonyms of restrict
Synonyms: limitation, limit, handicap, constraint More Synonyms of restrict
2. verb
To restrict the movement or actions of someone or something means to prevent them from moving or acting freely.
Villagers say the fence would restrict public access to the hills. [VERB noun]
The government imprisoned dissidents, forbade travel, and restricted the press. [VERB noun]
These dams have restricted the flow of the river downstream. [VERB noun]
[Also V n from -ing]
Synonyms: hamper, contain, bound, confine More Synonyms of restrict
restrictionuncountable noun
...the justification for this restriction of individual liberty. [+ of]
Synonyms: control, rule, condition, check More Synonyms of restrict
Synonyms: limitation, limit, handicap, constraint More Synonyms of restrict
3. verb
If you restrict someone or their activities to one thing, they can only do, have, or deal with that thing. If you restrict them to one place, they cannot go anywhere else.
Two knee injuries restricted him to only nine more league appearances. [VERB noun to noun]
The women were put on a diet that restricted them to 1,400 calories a day. [VERB noun to noun]
For the first two weeks patients are restricted to the grounds. [beVERB-ed + to]
[Also VERB noun + to]
4. verb
If you restrict something to a particular group, only that group can do it or have it. If you restrict something to a particular place, it is allowed only in that place.
The hospital may restrict bookings to people living locally. [VERB noun + to]
Camping is restricted to five designated campgrounds. [VERB noun to noun]
More Synonyms of restrict
restrict in British English
(rɪˈstrɪkt)
verb
(often foll by to)
to confine or keep within certain often specified limits or selected bounds
restrict your food intake after 8pm
Word origin
C16: from Latin rēstrictus bound up, from rēstringere; see restrain
restrict in American English
(rɪˈstrɪkt)
verb transitive
to keep within certain limits; put certain limitations on; confine
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈlimit
Word origin
< L restrictus, pp. of restringere: see restrain
Examples of 'restrict' in a sentence
restrict
Watchdogs will be able to force internet chiefs to restrict access to sites without tough age checks.
The Sun (2016)
It also explained that internet access was restricted because of limited resources when the school opened.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Inside the world of espionage, salaries are restricted by government wage scales.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Or any number of food groups, if you restrict your diet to cake.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It also means more prisons having to restrict access to activities, so prisoners spend more time locked in their cells.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
So he wants to leave the European customs union, which restricts the deals you can do with countries outside it.
The Sun (2016)
There were concerns that the deal would restrict the use of other photo services.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Perhaps your government is restricting your right to free assembly?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This spasm temporarily restricts the blood flow through the arteries and the oxygen deficit occurs.
Wallace, Louise M & Bundy, Christine Coping with Angina (1990)
When is society justified in restricting liberty?
Kishlansky, Mark A. (editor) Sources of the West: Readings in Western Civilization, Volume 1: From the Beginningto 1715 (1995)
Some of the lenders have also restricted their mortgage deals to certain brokers.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
This bending restricts the flow of sap and encourages more flowers and fruits.
The Sun (2015)
There are sites that restrict access to your profile.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Councils are at liberty to restrict the numbers of venues in a given area based on suitability.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It emerges that outstanding payments on past deals are restricting transfer activity.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Everything else the government does inherently restricts economic freedom to act in pursuit of earned success.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It was already known that bacteria in the mouth could cause inflammation restricting blood flow to the heart.
The Sun (2010)
It is also restricting deals for borrowers with less than a 10% deposit to branches.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The Constitution restricts what the government can require not what individuals can consider.
Christianity Today (2000)
But why should the Government restrict itself to advising how to identify drunks?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It is not enough to feel well on a very restricted diet: we want to know why.
Mumby, Keith The Allergy Handbook (1988)
A diet restricted to a handful of foods contains fewer antioxidants and fibre.
The Sun (2012)
And there is a far better solution than restricting access to libraries, which is to build more libraries.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The journal would have this time to publish the research and restrict its access to its published journal and pay-per-view online access.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It meant my diet was restricted because I could eat only tiny portions.
The Sun (2008)
We are restricted to deals that suit the whole EU.
The Sun (2016)
At the tobacco company he was outspoken in saying that the Government should not restrict people's liberty to smoke.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In other languages
restrict
British English: restrict /rɪˈstrɪkt/ VERB
If you restrict something, you put a limit on it to stop it becoming too large.
Laws were passed to restrict foreign imports.
American English: restrict
Arabic: يُقَيِّدُ
Brazilian Portuguese: restringir
Chinese: 限制
Croatian: ograničiti
Czech: omezit
Danish: begrænse
Dutch: beperken
European Spanish: restringir
Finnish: rajoittaa
French: restreindre
German: einschränken
Greek: περιορίζω
Italian: limitare
Japanese: 制限する
Korean: 제한하다
Norwegian: begrense
Polish: ograniczyć
European Portuguese: restringir
Romanian: a limita
Russian: ограничивать
Latin American Spanish: restringir
Swedish: begränsa
Thai: จำกัด
Turkish: sınırlamak
Ukrainian: обмежувати
Vietnamese: hạn chế
Chinese translation of 'restrict'
restrict
(rɪsˈtrɪkt)
vt
[growth, membership, privilege]限制 (xiànzhì)
[vision, movements]阻碍(礙) (zǔ'ài)
[activities]约(約)束 (yuēshù)
1 (verb)
Definition
to confine or keep within certain limits
a move to restrict the number of students on campus at any one time
Synonyms
limit
He limited payments on the country's foreign debt.
fix
He's fixed a time when I can see him.
regulate
specify
curb
He must learn to curb that temper of his.
ration
Staples such as bread, rice and tea are already being rationed.
keep within bounds or limits
Opposites
free
,
allow
,
encourage
,
promote
, permit,
foster
,
widen
,
broaden
2 (verb)
The shoulder straps restrict movement.
Synonyms
hamper
I was hampered by a lack of information.
impede
Fallen rocks are impeding the progress of rescue workers.
handicap
Greater levels of stress may seriously handicap some students.
restrain
He grabbed my arm, partly to restrain me.
cramp
She was worried that her dad would cramp her style.
inhibit
buildings which inhibit the supply of light and air
straiten
3 (verb)
The fence would restrict public access.
Synonyms
hamper
contain
bound
Our lives are bounded by work, family and television.
confine
circumscribe
The monarch's powers are circumscribed by Parliament.
hem in
demarcate
clip someone's wings
Additional synonyms
in the sense of bound
Definition
to place restrictions on
Our lives are bounded by work, family and television.
Synonyms
limit,
fix,
define,
restrict,
confine,
restrain,
circumscribe,
demarcate,
delimit
in the sense of circumscribe
Definition
to limit or restrict within certain boundaries
The monarch's powers are circumscribed by Parliament.
Synonyms
restrict,
limit,
define,
confine,
restrain,
delineate,
hem in,
demarcate,
delimit,
straiten
in the sense of confine
Synonyms
hold back,
bind,
bound,
restrain,
repress,
clip someone's wings,
straiten
Synonyms of 'restrict'
restrict
Explore 'restrict' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of cramp
Definition
to confine or restrict
She was worried that her dad would cramp her style.
Synonyms
restrict,
hamper,
inhibit,
hinder,
check,
handicap,
confine,
hamstring,
constrain,
obstruct,
impede,
shackle,
circumscribe,
encumber
in the sense of curb
Definition
to control or restrain
He must learn to curb that temper of his.
Synonyms
restrain,
control,
check,
contain,
restrict,
moderate,
suppress,
inhibit,
subdue,
hinder,
repress,
constrain,
retard,
impede,
muzzle,
bridle,
stem the flow of,
keep a tight rein on
in the sense of fix
Definition
to settle definitely or decide upon
He's fixed a time when I can see him.
Synonyms
decide,
set,
name,
choose,
limit,
establish,
determine,
settle,
appoint,
arrange,
define,
conclude,
resolve,
arrive at,
specify,
agree on
in the sense of handicap
Definition
to make it difficult for (someone) to do something
Greater levels of stress may seriously handicap some students.
Synonyms
hinder,
limit,
restrict,
burden,
hamstring,
hamper,
hold back,
retard,
impede,
hobble,
encumber,
place at a disadvantage
in the sense of impede
Definition
to block or make progress or action difficult
Fallen rocks are impeding the progress of rescue workers.
Synonyms
hinder,
stop,
slow (down),
check,
bar,
block,
delay,
hold up,
brake,
disrupt,
curb,
restrain,
hamper,
thwart,
clog,
obstruct,
retard,
encumber,
cumber,
throw a spanner in the works of (British, informal)
in the sense of inhibit
Definition
to restrain or hinder (an impulse or desire)
buildings which inhibit the supply of light and air
Synonyms
hinder,
stop,
prevent,
check,
bar,
arrest,
frustrate,
curb,
restrain,
constrain,
obstruct,
impede,
bridle,
stem the flow of,
throw a spanner in the works of,
hold back or in
in the sense of ration
Definition
to restrict the distribution of (something)
Staples such as bread, rice and tea are already being rationed.