control
/kənˈtɹoʊl/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.40 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
(construed with for) To design (an experiment) so that the effects of one or more variables are reduced or eliminated.
Transitive verb
verb
To verify the accuracy of (something or someone, especially a financial account) by comparison with another account.
Archaic; Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "With a simple remote, he could control the toy truck."
- "This was a wonderful advert for the Premier League, with both Chelsea and United intent on all-out attack - but Ferguson will be concerned at how his side lost their way after imperiously controlling much of the first period."
- "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 wolde Agaynst my mynde and wyll In my church hawke styll."
- "Because only by the Capette Pellet method of hormonization can growers be assured of controlled dosage and uniform results."
- "The government has complete control over the situation."
Etymology
From Middle English controllen, from Old French contrerole, from Medieval Latin contrārotulus (“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”). Partly displaced native Old English wealdan and Old English wieldan, whence their merged reflex English wield.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kənˈtɹoʊl/
- British English: /kənˈtɹəʊl/
Usage
Inflected Forms
controls (present, singular)
controlling (participle, present)
controlled (participle, past)
controlled (past)
comptrol (alternative, obsolete)
comptroll (alternative, obsolete)
controll (alternative, obsolete)
controul (alternative, obsolete)
countrol (alternative, obsolete)
Ctrl (alternative, abbreviation)
controls (plural)