Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.
  • transitive verb To adjust to a particular specification or requirement.
  • transitive verb To adjust (a mechanism) for accurate and proper functioning.
  • transitive verb To put or maintain in order.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To adjust by rule, method, or established mode; govern by or subject to certain rules or restrictions; direct.
  • To put or keep in good order: as, to regulate the disordered state of a nation or its finances; to regulate the digestion.
  • Specifically, in musical instruments with a keyboard, so to adjust the action that it shall be noiseless, prompt, and sensitive to the touch.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To adjust by rule, method, or established mode; to direct by rule or restriction; to subject to governing principles or laws.
  • transitive verb To put in good order.
  • transitive verb To adjust, or maintain, with respect to a desired rate, degree, or condition
  • transitive verb to adjust its rate of running so that it will keep approximately standard time.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To dictate policy.
  • verb To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.
  • verb To adjust to a particular specification or requirement: regulate temperature.
  • verb To adjust (a mechanism) for accurate and proper functioning.
  • verb To put or maintain in order: regulate one's eating habits.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb shape or influence; give direction to
  • verb fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of
  • verb bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations
  • verb check the emission of (sound)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

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

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin regulatus, past participle of regulare ("to direct, rule, regulate"), from regula ("rule"), from regere ("to keep straight, direct, govern, rule"). Compare regle, rail.

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Examples

  • One of the more credible arguments is that while Congress may regulate commerce between the states (the term regulate meaning something entirely different to the Founders, chiefly that individual state commercial law should have some uniformity), how can Congress regulate non-activity or no commerce?

    The Rule of Reason 2010

  • But, half the blame can be laid to the ambiguity of the term regulate, and also to the clause general welfare

    The Dougout 2009

  • It is irrelevant, he states, that politicians, and even the Supreme Court, believe that the term regulate means control of the movement or existence of commodities and services via taxation, quotas, or any other species of interventionism across state lines or within them.

    The Dougout 2009

  • No the Republicans are so smart they think letting the government do nothing to regulate is the answer to everything.

    Durbin: New safety standards likely for offshore drilling 2010

  • A decision not to regulate is consistent with leaving matters to the states.

    Archive 2009-08-01 Rebecca Tushnet 2009

  • Yes America country that just went through one of the worst finical crises in history due to a failure to regulate is overregulated.

    Matthew Yglesias » Is America Overregulated? 2010

  • The field of affective neuroscience has grown and changed so rapidly that for an outsider to the field it can be difficult to keep track of scholars 'best understanding of which parts of the brain regulate what.

    Valerie Tarico: God's Emotions: What Are Emotions Anyway? (Part 4) Valerie Tarico 2010

  • No the Republicans are so smart they think letting the government do nothing to regulate is the answer to everything.

    Durbin: New safety standards likely for offshore drilling 2010

  • The field of affective neuroscience has grown and changed so rapidly that for an outsider to the field it can be difficult to keep track of scholars 'best understanding of which parts of the brain regulate what.

    Valerie Tarico: God's Emotions: What Are Emotions Anyway? (Part 4) Valerie Tarico 2010

  • A decision not to regulate is consistent with leaving matters to the states.

    "All natural" case not at all preempted Rebecca Tushnet 2009

Comments

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  • RegULatE

    April 22, 2008