rein
/reɪn
/noun (usually reins)
1A long, narrow strap attached at one end to a horse’s bit, typically used in pairs to guide or check a horse in riding or driving.Spotting them, she quickly grabbed the reins and led the horses back at a trot....
- She soon took the reins again and guided the horse back to the stables.
- He reached around me, grasping the horse's reins, and spurred the creature into a gallop.
1.1British A pair of straps used to restrain a young child: some of the children wore leather baby reins...
- We offer fully adjustable baby harnesses & baby and child reins to keep kids safe when walking outside.
- Baby reins are designed to keep your toddler safe when walking out and about
1.2The power to direct and control: a new chairperson will soon take over the reins...
- She also shows that Irish women are lagging way behind their EU counterparts in taking the reins of power when it comes to running the country.
- But when the celebrations die down, and when the euphoria subsides, do not forget for one moment who handed you back the reins of power.
- The people of the country should be saved from the humiliation of a person of foreign origin holding the reins of power.
verb [with object and adverbial]
1Check or guide (a horse) by pulling on its reins: he reined in his horse and waited...
- He reined his horse alongside hers; the groom dropped back to a discreet distance.
- I mumbled, reining my horse up beside Jack's, who was leering into the trees, ‘They won't hurt us will they?’
- Expertly reining her horse, she was soon side by side with him.
1.1Keep under control; restrain: with an effort, she reined back her impatience the government had failed to rein in public spending...
- If political leaders lack the control to rein in their more violent followers, they have no right to public protests.
- The reality over the next five years is that the Government will have far less resources and will have to rein in spending significantly.
- The museum has been forced to rein in its work in many areas: cutting numbers of staff, reducing opening hours, cancelling exhibitions and installing a rota of closed galleries.
Synonyms
restrain, check, curb, constrain, hold back, keep in check, keep under control, hold in, regulate, restrict, control, bridle, put the brakes on, slow down, curtail, limit, stop, arrest
Usage
The idiomatic phrase a free rein, which derives from the literal meaning of using reins to control a horse, is sometimes misinterpreted and written as a free reign. More than a third of the citations for the phrase in the Oxford English Corpus use reign instead of rein.
Phrases
draw rein
(a) free rein
keep a tight rein on
Derivatives
reinless
Origin
Middle English: from Old French rene, based on Latin retinere 'retain'.