control
/kənˈtrəʊl
/noun
1 [mass noun] The power to influence or direct people’s behaviour or the course of events: the whole operation is under the control of a production manager the situation was slipping out of her control...
- The fact that they failed to do so was dictated to some degree by events outside their direct control.
- It is doubtful whether he had any particular control over the course of events.
- The director would not have day-to-day control or financial power over the other agencies.
Synonyms
jurisdiction, sway, power, authority, command, dominance, domination, government, mastery, leadership, rule, reign, sovereignty, supremacy, ascendancy, predominance, hegemony;
charge, management, direction, guidance, supervision, superintendence, oversight;
influence
rare prepotence, prepotency, prepollency
1.1The ability to manage a machine, vehicle, or other moving object: he lost control of his car improve your ball control...
- Parked cars were damaged when the driver of a car lost control on a roundabout and collided with them yesterday.
- It is understood that around 10 am, the driver of the car lost control after colliding with a lorry.
- Last December a car lost control and hit the wall near the village hall.
1.2The restriction of an activity, tendency, or phenomenon: crime control...
- Their fields of activity include soil conservation, gardening, and natural pest control.
- To continue, hunts would have to meet the twin tests of preventing cruelty and being necessary for pest control.
- Severely infested grains and cheese usually require fumigation to achieve control of these pests.
Synonyms
restraint, constraint, limitation, restriction, check, curb, brake, rein;
regulation
1.3The ability to restrain one’s own emotions or actions: she was goaded beyond control...
- He says that no matter how tough these guys appear there often comes a time when they lose control of their emotions.
- Sometimes I think that it would be good to be one of those people who are in total control of their emotions.
- She knew she was losing control over her emotions.
Synonyms
self-control, self-restraint, restraint, self-command, self-mastery, self-discipline;
self-possession, composure, calmness, coolness
informal cool
rare countenance
1.4 [count noun] (often controls) A means of limiting or regulating something: growing controls on local spending...
- The market will become unfettered by regulation - the modest controls on the internet to protect consumers, for example, are to be dumped on the grounds that they impose burdens on business.
- The department, which is responsible for official controls on animal feed, did not disclose where the contaminated premixture was found.
- In the 1920s the state imposed controls on freight charges.
1.5 [count noun] A switch or other device by which a device or vehicle is regulated: he had the chance to take the controls and fly the glider the volume control...
- Even the cheapest alarms have an on/off switch and a volume control, something that many people seem to forget.
- Voice dialling and other key phone functions can be activated using the vehicles' steering wheel controls.
- Many complain that the modern car is home to a confusing and unnecessary multitude of buttons, switches and controls.
Synonyms
switch, knob, button, dial, handle, lever;
(controls) console, instrument panel, dashboard
informal dash
1.6 [with modifier] The place from which a system or activity is directed or where a particular item is verified: passport control...
- All this means is that passport control can verify that you are who you say you are.
- In the shop after passport control, some goods were being sold at high-street prices.
- If you get your visa in the UK before you go, you can skip this queue, go direct to passport control and be first in the baggage reclaim queue.
Synonyms
headquarters, HQ, base, centre of operations, command post
1.7 Computing short for control key. note that Control plus various keys on the numeric keypad will move you around the text...
- Now hit Control + E three times.
- is there a way to disable the windows key (to the right of the left control) on the keyboard?
- Later we can use CONTROL to remove colours and SHIFT to add them.
2A person or thing used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of a survey or experiment: platelet activity was higher in patients with the disease than in the controls...
- Intact leaves selected the evening before the experiments served as controls.
- Compared with controls, significant results remained for deliberate self-harm in moderately and severely victimized individuals.
- Dr Duncan found that only one of the groups, the third group, showed any apparent effect in comparison with the control group.
Synonyms
standard of comparison, benchmark, standard, check
3A member of an intelligence organization who personally directs the activities of a spy: he sat with his KGB control as the details of his new assignment were explained...
- The title refers to the time when an outside spy has to ‘come in from the cold’ and take a sedentary job as another spy's control or even some menial desk assignment until the mandatory age limit forces retirement.
- Blunt joined MI5, now allowing him to expand his services beyond recruiting and giving him opportunities to transmit secret documents to his KGB control.
- He detests the amorality of his C.I.A. control.
4 Bridge A high card that will prevent the opponents from establishing a particular suit: he has controls in both minor suits
verb (controls, controlling, controlled)
1 [with object] Determine the behaviour or supervise the running of: he was appointed to control the company’s marketing strategy...
- In addition to the presidential race, November's election will determine which party controls the next Congress.
- A small number of states could determine which party controls the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
- If the election is as tight as it promises to be, they could well determine who controls the US Senate.
Synonyms
be in charge of, run, be in control of, manage, direct, administer, head, preside over, have authority over, supervise, superintend, oversee, guide, steer;
command, rule, govern, lead, dominate, reign over, hold sway over, hegemonize, be at the helm, be the boss
informal head up, call the shots, call the tune, be in the driving seat, be in the saddle, run the show, pull the strings, rule the roost, hold the purse strings, have someone/something in the palm of one's hand, have someone eating out of one's hand
British informal wear the trousers
North American have someone in one's hip pocket
1.1Maintain influence or authority over: there were never enough masters to control the unruly mobs of boys...
- The whole point of a blog is that its author controls its content.
- In London, many people defied a request by police to avoid meeting in Trafalgar Square, where authorities often have trouble controlling the rowdier celebrants.
- By controlling influential committees, the Prime Minister can also ensure that he drives the policies of these committees.
1.2Limit the level, intensity, or numbers of: he had to control his temper...
- By tightly controlling your blood sugar levels, intensive insulin therapy can help prevent long-term diabetes complications such as kidney damage.
- Mr Keaney said noise and dust generated by the quarry could be controlled by conditions limiting the hours of operation and the cleaning of the public roads.
- He also called upon the citizens to launch a green revolution to control increasing pollution levels in the City.
Synonyms
restrain, keep in check, curb, check, contain, hold back, bridle, rein in, keep a tight rein on, subdue, suppress, repress, master, damp down
informal keep a/the lid on
limit, restrict, set/impose limits on, curb, cap, constrain
informal put the brakes on
1.3 (control oneself) Remain calm and reasonable despite provocation: her eyes flashed angrily, but she made an effort to control herself...
- I was walking away, thinking how silly I was to have reacted like that, next time I should be calmer, and control myself.
- Section 3 requires that the accused should have made reasonable efforts to control himself within the limits of what he is reasonably able to do.
- Visibly struggling to control himself, he finally calmed down somewhat and began to pace.
1.4Regulate (a mechanical or scientific process): the airflow is controlled by a fan...
- Scientists believe they will be able to develop treatments for deafness due to the discovery of the gene they believe controls the process that enables us to hear.
- The researchers' initial goal was to learn what controls this process.
- This aspect of the process was controlled through separate instrumentation.
Synonyms
regulate, modulate, adjust;
affect, determine, govern
1.5 (as adjective controlled) (Of a drug) restricted by law in respect of use and possession: a sentence for possessing controlled substances...
- This would mean that a controlled drug could not be changed to a restricted substance without the controlled drug classification being removed by Parliament first.
- On 6th September 1996 he had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
- However, late in the day police began to wind down the operation after arresting a man for possession of controlled drugs.
2 [no object] (control for) Take into account (an extraneous factor that might affect the results of an experiment): no attempt was made to control for variations (as adjective controlled) a controlled trial...
- However, dialect was not a significant predictor of male mating success when controlling for other factors that might affect paternity.
- When researchers controlled for socioeconomic factors, the differences were more subtle but still there.
- The within-subjects design of this experiment controls for any differences in sex and age.
Phrases
in control
out of control
under control
Origin
Late Middle English (as a verb in the sense 'check or verify accounts', especially by referring to a duplicate register): from Anglo-Norman French contreroller 'keep a copy of a roll of accounts', from medieval Latin contrarotulare, from contrarotulus 'copy of a roll', from contra- 'against' + rotulus 'a roll'. The noun is perhaps via French contrôle.
The early sense of this was ‘check or verify accounts’: usually by making reference to a duplicate register. It is from Anglo-Norman French contreroller ‘keep a copy of a roll of accounts’, from Latin contrarotulus ‘copy of a roll’.