regulate

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reg·u·late

(rĕg′yə-lāt′)

tr.v. reg·u·lat·ed, reg·u·lat·ing, reg·u·lates

1. To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.

2. To adjust to a particular specification or requirement: regulate temperature.

3. To adjust (a mechanism) for accurate and proper functioning.

4. To put or maintain in order: regulate one's eating habits.

[Middle English, from Late Latin rēgulāre, rēgulāt-, from Latin rēgula, rod, rule; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]

reg′u·la′tive, reg′u·la·to′ry (-lə-tôr′ē) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

regulate

(ˈrɛɡjʊˌleɪt)

vb (tr)

1. to adjust (the amount of heat, sound, etc, of something) as required; control

2. (Mechanical Engineering) to adjust (an instrument or appliance) so that it operates correctly

3. to bring into conformity with a rule, principle, or usage

[C17: from Late Latin rēgulāre to control, from Latin rēgula a ruler]

ˈregulative, ˈregulatory adj

ˈregulatively adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

reg•u•late

(ˈrɛg yəˌleɪt)

v.t. -lat•ed, -lat•ing.

1. to control or direct by a rule, principle, or method.

2. to adjust in accordance with some standard or requirement, as of amount or degree: to regulate the temperature.

3. to adjust so as to ensure accuracy of operation: to regulate a watch.

4. to put in good order: to regulate the digestion.

[1620–30; < Late Latin rēgulātus, past participle of rēgulāre, derivative of Latin rēgula rod for measuring and drawing lines, rule; see -ate¹]

reg′u•la`tive (-yəˌleɪ tɪv, -yə lə tɪv) reg′u•la•to`ry (-ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i) adj.

regulate

Past participle: regulated
Gerund: regulating

Imperative
regulate
regulate

Present
I regulate
you regulate
he/she/it regulates
we regulate
you regulate
they regulate

Preterite
I regulated
you regulated
he/she/it regulated
we regulated
you regulated
they regulated

Present Continuous
I am regulating
you are regulating
he/she/it is regulating
we are regulating
you are regulating
they are regulating

Present Perfect
I have regulated
you have regulated
he/she/it has regulated
we have regulated
you have regulated
they have regulated

Past Continuous
I was regulating
you were regulating
he/she/it was regulating
we were regulating
you were regulating
they were regulating

Past Perfect
I had regulated
you had regulated
he/she/it had regulated
we had regulated
you had regulated
they had regulated

Future
I will regulate
you will regulate
he/she/it will regulate
we will regulate
you will regulate
they will regulate

Future Perfect
I will have regulated
you will have regulated
he/she/it will have regulated
we will have regulated
you will have regulated
they will have regulated

Future Continuous
I will be regulating
you will be regulating
he/she/it will be regulating
we will be regulating
you will be regulating
they will be regulating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been regulating
you have been regulating
he/she/it has been regulating
we have been regulating
you have been regulating
they have been regulating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been regulating
you will have been regulating
he/she/it will have been regulating
we will have been regulating
you will have been regulating
they will have been regulating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been regulating
you had been regulating
he/she/it had been regulating
we had been regulating
you had been regulating
they had been regulating

Conditional
I would regulate
you would regulate
he/she/it would regulate
we would regulate
you would regulate
they would regulate

Past Conditional
I would have regulated
you would have regulated
he/she/it would have regulated
we would have regulated
you would have regulated
they would have regulated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	regulate - fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of; "regulate the temperature"; "modulate the pitch" modulate adjust, correct, set - alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard; "Adjust the clock, please"; "correct the alignment of the front wheels"
	2.	regulate - bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations; "We cannot regulate the way people dress"; "This town likes to regulate" govern, regularise, regularize, order standardize, standardise - cause to conform to standard or norm; "The weights and measures were standardized" decide, make up one's mind, determine - reach, make, or come to a decision about something; "We finally decided after lengthy deliberations" district, zone - regulate housing in; of certain areas of towns deregulate - lift the regulations on
	3.	regulate - shape or influence; give direction to; "experience often determines ability"; "mold public opinion" shape, determine, influence, mold dispose, incline - make receptive or willing towards an action or attitude or belief; "Their language inclines us to believe them" disincline, indispose - make unwilling miscreate - shape or form or make badly; "Our miscreated fantasies" carry weight - have influence to a specified degree; "Her opinion carries a lot of weight" decide - influence or determine; "The vote in New Hampshire often decides the outcome of the Presidential election" reshape - shape anew or differently; "The new foreign minister reshaped the foreign policy of his country" time - set the speed, duration, or execution of; "we time the process to manufacture our cars very precisely" index - adjust through indexation; "The government indexes wages and prices" pace - regulate or set the pace of; "Pace your efforts" predetermine - determine beforehand cause, do, make - give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally; "cause a commotion"; "make a stir"; "cause an accident"
	4.	regulate - check the emission of (sound) baffle confine, limit, throttle, trammel, restrain, restrict, bound - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends"

regulate

verb

1. control, run, order, rule, manage, direct, guide, handle, conduct, arrange, monitor, organize, govern, administer, oversee, supervise, systematize, superintend a powerful body to regulate the stock market

2. moderate, control, modulate, settle, fit, balance, tune, adjust He breathed deeply trying to regulate the pound of his heartbeat.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

regulate

verb

1. To keep the mechanical operation of (a device) within proper parameters:

control, govern.

2. To alter for proper functioning:

adjust, fix, set, tune (up).

Music: attune.

Translations

يُعَدِّل، يَضْبُطيُنَظِّم

regulovatseřídit

justereregulerestillestyre

einstellen regeln regulieren

regular

régler réguler réglementer

stillastjórna

regolare

regular

регулировать

regulovať

uravnati

ayarlamak düzenlemek

控制校准调整

regulate

[ˈregjʊleɪt] VT

1. (= control) [+ expenditure, prices, temperature, level, pressure] → regular
a well-regulated life → una vida ordenada

2. (= make rules for) [+ industry, products] → regular
a new body to regulate TV advertising → un nuevo organismo que regula la publicidad que se emite por televisión
see also self-regulating

3. (Tech) [+ machine, mechanism] → regular

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

regulate

[ˈrɛgjʊleɪt] vt

(= govern with rules) [+ process, industry, competition] → réguler

(= control the operation of) [+ machine] → régler; [+ balance, temperature] → réguler
a drug that regulates the hormonal balance of the body → un médicament qui régule l'équilibre hormonal du corps

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

regulate

vt (= control) → regulieren; flow, expenditure also, traffic, lifestyle → regeln; to regulate the use of something → den Gebrauch von etw begrenzen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

regulate

[ˈrɛgjʊˌleɪt] vt → regolare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

regular

(ˈregjulə) adjective

1. usual. Saturday is his regular day for shopping; That isn't our regular postman, is it?

2. (American) normal. He's too handicapped to attend a regular school.

3. occurring, acting etc with equal amounts of space, time etc between. They placed guards at regular intervals round the camp; Is his pulse regular?

4. involving doing the same things at the same time each day etc. a man of regular habits.

5. frequent. He's a regular visitor; He's one of our regular customers.

6. permanent; lasting. He's looking for a regular job.

7. (of a noun, verb etc) following one of the usual grammatical patterns of the language. `Walk' is a regular verb, but `go' is an irregular verb.

8. the same on both or all sides or parts; neat; symmetrical. a girl with regular features; A square is a regular figure.

9. of ordinary size. I don't want the large size of packet – just give me the regular one.

10. (of a soldier) employed full-time, professional; (of an army) composed of regular soldiers.

noun

1. a soldier in the regular army.

2. a regular customer (eg at a bar).

ˌreguˈlarity (-ˈla-) noun

ˈregularly adverb

1. at regular times, places etc. His heart was beating regularly.

2. frequently. He comes here regularly.

ˈregulate (-leit) verb

1. to control. We must regulate our spending; Traffic lights are used to regulate traffic.

2. to adjust (a piece of machinery etc) so that it works at a certain rate etc. Can you regulate this watch so that it keeps time accurately?

ˌreguˈlation noun

1. a rule or instruction. There are certain regulations laid down as to how this job should be done, and these must be obeyed; (also adjective) Please use envelopes of the regulation size.

2. the act of regulating. the regulation of a piece of machinery.

ˈregulator (-lei-) noun

a thing that regulates (a piece of machinery etc).

regulate

v. regular, ordenar.

References in classic literature ?

The attempt, therefore, to regulate the contributions of the members of a confederacy by any such rule, cannot fail to be productive of glaring inequality and extreme oppression.

View in context

A power to destroy the freedom of the press, the trial by jury, or even to regulate the course of descents, or the forms of conveyances, must be very singularly expressed by the terms "to raise money for the general welfare."

View in context

Answering a question in Parliament, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Kenneth Matambo, said the regulations did not mandate NBIFIRA to regulate interest rates charged by micro lenders.

NBFIRA not regulating interest rates

The Department of Health (DOH) is finalizing the administrative order (AO) that will regulate electronic cigarettes and will be issued after a thorough review.

DOH finalizing AO on e-cigarettes regulation

As PRVs fail to regulate pressure when vibration occurs, they must not be operated under extreme conditions that may lead to spring vibration.

Operational Characterization of Pressure Regulating Valves

Cyprus and Malta are currently the only two EU countries to regulate off-exchange binary options.

Only 38% of Binary Options Brokers in Europe are Regulated

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration have no plans to regulate mobile applications that let consumers compare symptoms to a list of medical conditions, link patients to a portal with their own health information, or allow patients to measure and track their own vital signs.

FDA will regulate apps that function as medical devices

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration have no plans to regulate mobile applications that let consumers compare their symptoms to a list of medical conditions, link patients to a portal with their own health information, or allow patients to measure and track their own vital signs.

Some medical apps will be subject to regulation

In general, the FDA plans to regulate mobile apps that act as an extension of a medical device by displaying, storing, analyzing, or transmitting patient-specific medical data.

FDA outlines intentions for regulating medical apps

In the United States, a number of states regulate the alcohol and caffeine content of CABs while others ban the drinks entirely.

Caffeinated alcoholic beverages in Lebanon subject to regulation

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson last week notified Congress in writing that the agency has no plans to regulate dust generated by routine farming operations.