Etimology
From Middle English controllen, from Old French contrerole, from Medieval Latin contrārotulum (“a counter-roll or register used to verify accounts”), from Latin contrā (“against, opposite”) + Medieval Latin rotulus, Latin rotula (“roll, a little wheel”), diminutive of rota (“a wheel”).
verb
control (third-person singular simple present controls, present participle controlling, simple past and past participle controlled)
(transitive) To exercise influence over; to suggest or dictate the behavior of.
(transitive, statistics) (construed with for) To design (an experiment) so that the effects of one or more variables are reduced or eliminated.
(transitive, archaic) To verify the accuracy of (something or someone, especially a financial account) by comparison with another account.
(transitive, obsolete) To call to account, to take to task, to challenge.
(transitive) To hold in check, to curb, to restrain.
Examples
Synonyms: besteer, bewield, manage, puppeteer, rule
With a simple remote, he could control the toy truck.
In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra–wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.
I fortuned to come in,Thys rebell to behold,Whereof I hym controld;But he sayde that he woldeAgaynst my mynde and wyllIn my church hawke styll.
Related words
antonyms
defy, rebel, resist (not to be controlled)
obey, submit (to be controlled)
hyponyms
take control, take the reins, hold the reins
noun
control (countable and uncountable, plural controls)
(countable, uncountable) Influence or authority over something.
The method and means of governing the performance of any apparatus, machine or system, such as a lever, handle or button.
Restraint or ability to contain one's movements or emotions, or self-control.
A security mechanism, policy, or procedure that can counter system attack, reduce risks, and resolve vulnerabilities; a safeguard or countermeasure.
(project management) A means of monitoring for, and triggering intervention in, activities that are not going according to plan.
A control group or control experiment.
A duplicate book, register, or account, kept to correct or check another account or register.
(graphical user interface) An interface element that a computer user interacts with, such as a window or a text box (abbreviated Ctrl).
(climatology) Any of the physical factors determining the climate of a place, such as latitude, distribution of land and water, altitude, exposure, prevailing winds, permanent high- or low-barometric-pressure areas, ocean currents, mountain barriers, soil, and vegetation.
(linguistics) A construction in which the understood subject of a given predicate is determined by an expression in context. See control.
(spiritualism, parapsychology) A spirit that takes possession of a psychic or medium and allows other spirits to communicate with the living.
(cycling, countable) A checkpoint along an audax route.
Examples
The government has complete control over the situation.
She had no control of her body as she tumbled downhill. She did not know up from down. It was not unlike being cartwheeled in a relentlessly crashing wave.
The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you […] "share the things you love with the world" and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.
“The entries in the control accounts reflect respectively the effect of the transactions on the value of Korrinna company’s receivables and payables (purchase ledger control account.”
"Make sure you enter the total of any credit balances in the sales ledger into the Sales Ledger Control Account and the total of any debit balances in the purchase ledger into the Purchase Ledger Control Account."
“Wages Control Account: This account records wage transactions in aggregate. Postings are made from wage analysis sheet. This account is debited with gross wages and is closed by transfer of direct wages to work-in-progress and indirect wages to factory, administration and selling and distribution overheads control accounts as illustrated below:”
Synonym: widget
"Ah, who are they? I wonder. Guides, controls, psychic entities of some kind. Who the agents of vengeance - or I should say justice - are, is really not essential."
[…] the self-acknowledged stereotype of the audaxer as a socially awkward middle-aged man, […] carefully avoiding eye contact as a volunteer serves him his cup of tea and plate of baked beans in one of the draughty village halls that typically host audax controls.
Related words
hyponyms
air traffic control
control tower
cruise control
edge control
flight control
master control
mind control
mission control
proportional control
race control