control

- definition

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noun

/kənˈtroʊl/

singular	control
plural	controls

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1
[uncountable] the power to make decisions about something and decide what should happen
control of:
When Marie’s father died, control of the business passed into her hands.
gain/lose control of something:
Democrats are hoping to gain control of the House of Representatives at the next election.
have control of/over something:
Dr. Davies believes that children should have control over their own lives.
beyond someone’s control:
Decisions on financial matters are beyond my control.
be/come under someone’s control:
The island is now under French control.
take control of something:
When we took control of the company, it was losing money.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
Collocations: control
▪ assume, exercise, exert, gain, have, keep, lose, maintain, regain, relinquish, retain, seize, take, tighten, wrest
2
[uncountable] the power to make something such as a vehicle, machine, or animal do what you want
lose control of something:
The driver lost control of the vehicle on an icy road.
regain control of something:
He failed to regain control of the aircraft, and it crashed moments later.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
3
[countable/uncountable] a law, agreement, or method that limits something
an international agreement on arms control
wage and price controls
control on:
new controls on the importing of live animals
tighter controls on vehicle emissions
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
4
[uncountable] the ability to stop something from increasing or becoming dangerous
The police were called in to help with crowd control.
control of:
Control of inflation is the administration’s top priority.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
5
[uncountable] the ability to remain calm even when you are feeling upset or angry
lose control:
The defendant had lost control after telling the victim several times to leave him alone.
keep control:
They sat in silence, struggling to keep control of their emotions.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
6
[countable] a button or switch that makes a machine do something
She adjusted the volume control slightly.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
1. a.
  controls
  [plural] the instruments used for operating a large vehicle, especially an aircraft
  be at the controls:
  We were reassured to know that an experienced pilot was now at the controls.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
7
[countable] science a group of people or things that is compared with the people or things being used in a scientific test in order to show whether the test has an effect or not
Half of the control group suffered further heart attacks, compared with only 12% of those receiving the treatment.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
8
[uncountable] the process of checking to make certain that rules or standards are being applied
It took us two hours to get through passport control.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
9
[uncountable] the control key on a computer keyboard
Press “control” and “D” to delete a line.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control

phrases

in control
someone who is in control has the power to make decisions and decide what should happen
Dr. Marion is the person in control of all medical decisions in the hospital.
The governing board is in control of the school’s budget.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
out of control
if something is out of control, people are not able to limit it or make it do what they want it to do
Forest fires can easily get out of control.
Nobody wants to see inflation get out of control.
We have to keep costs from spiraling out of control.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control
under control
if something is under control, people are able to limit it or make it do what they want it to do
It was several hours before firefighters could get the blaze under control.
keep/have something under control:
He sometimes has difficulty keeping his temper under control.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of control

Get It Right!: control

The noun control is sometimes followed by of and sometimes by over. The choice of preposition depends on the verb that comes before control.

In these expressions, always use the preposition of (not “over”):

▪ take control of

▪ lose control of

▪ be/feel in control of something

✗ Man has always tried to take control over nature.

✓ Man has always tried to take control of nature.

✗ He drove too fast and lost control over his van.

✓ He drove too fast and lost control of his van.

This is the American English definition of control. View British English definition of control.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

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controls

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in control

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simile

conflict mineral