control

Syllables: con·trol/kənˈtɹəʊl//kənˈtɹoʊl/

control verb: to exercise influence over; to suggest or dictate the behavior of.

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.
- 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.2011 March 1, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC
Synonyms:

besteer, bewield, manage, puppeteer, rule, govern
(transitive) (construed with for) To design (an experiment) so that the effects of one or more variables are reduced or eliminated.
(archaic, transitive) To verify the accuracy of (something or someone, especially a financial account) by comparison with another account.
(obsolete, transitive) To call to account, to take to task, to challenge.
- 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.c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 64, lines 94–99
(transitive) To hold in check, to curb, to restrain.
- Because only by the Capette Pellet method of hormonization can growers be assured of controlled dosage and uniform results.1956, American Poultry Journal, volume 87, page 32

Noun

control (countable and uncountable, plural controls)

An influence or authority over something.
- The government has complete control over the situation.
Synonyms:

command
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.
- 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.2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Times
- 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...2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27
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.
- “The entries in the control accounts reflect respectively the effect of the transactions on the value of Korrinna company’s receivables (sales ledger control account) and payables (purchase ledger control account.”2006, Henry Lunt, Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, page 297
- "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."2012, Harold Randall, David Hopkins, Cambridge International AS and A Level Accounting Textbook, page 78
An interface element that a computer user interacts with, such as a window or a text box.

Synonyms:

widget
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.
A construction in which the understood subject of a given predicate is determined by an expression in context. See control.
A spirit that takes possession of a psychic or medium and allows other spirits to communicate with the living.
- "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."1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019
(countable) A checkpoint along an audax route.
- […] 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.2019, Emily Chappell, Where There's a Will

control meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

control in Hindi

to exercise influence over; to suggest or dictate the behavior of: नियंत्रण करना niyantraṇ karnā
influence or authority over something: नियंत्रण niyantraṇ, क़ाबू qābū
the method and means of governing the performance of any apparatus, machine or system, such as a lever, handle or button: नियंत्रण niyantraṇ

control in Marathi

control, regulation: नियंत्रण niyantraṇ
control, restraint: अंकुश aṅkuś
to control, restrain: आवरणे āvarṇe

control in Urdu

to exercise influence over; to suggest or dictate the behavior of: قابو کرنا qābū krnā

More languagesFewer languages

control in Bengali: নিয়ন্ত্রণ niẏontron
control in Telugu: నియంత్రించు niyantriñcu
control in Malayalam: നിയന്ത്രിക്കുക niyantrikkuka, നിയന്ത്രണം niyantraṇaṁ
control in Kannada: ಹಿಡಿತ, ಪಿಡಿತ, ಅಂಕೆ, ಈಲು
control in Punjabi: ਨਿਯੰਤਰਨ niyantran
control in Gujarati: નિયંત્રણ niyantraṇ
control in Odia: ମୁଠା muṭhā, କାଇଦା kāidā, ଅଧିକାର adhikāra
control in Sanskrit: निरोध nirodha, अधितिष्ठति adhitíṣṭhati
control in Assamese: সামৰ xamor
control in Nepali: नियन्त्रण, नियन्त्रण गर्ने
control in Tagalog: mamahala, pamahalaan, pamamahala, kapangyarihan
control in Arabic: سَيْطَرَ sayṭara, تَحَكُّم taḥakkum, مُرَاقَبَة murāqaba, سَيْطَرَة sayṭara
control in Malay: mengawal, menguasai, kawalan, kontrol
control in Indonesian: mengendalikan, mengontrol, kendali, kawalan
control in Persian: واپاییدن vāpāyidan
control in Thai: ควบคุม kûuap-kum
control in Vietnamese: điều khiển, kiểm soát
control in Myanmar: စိုး cui:, ကြီးကြပ် kri:krap, ကြီးကဲ kri:kai:

Examples of control in a sentence

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.2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:
“Wages Control Account: This account records wage transactions in aggregate.2012, Aurora M.N., A textbook of Cost and Management Accounting, 10th Edition, page 12-3:

All 40 example sentences with control

Synonyms of control

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of control

Forms of control

Verb
third-person singular present	controls
present participle	controlling
past participle	controlled
past	controlled
alternative abbreviation	Ctrl
alternative form (obsolete)	comptrol
alternative form (obsolete)	comptroll
alternative form (obsolete)	controll
alternative form (obsolete)	controul
alternative form (obsolete)	countrol
Noun
plural	controls

Past tense of control: controlled

Plural of control: controls

Origin of control

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.

Words formed from control

Phrases with control

184 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with control

47 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about control

What does control mean?: Control means to exercise influence over; to suggest or dictate the behavior of.
What is control in Hindi?: Control in Hindi is नियंत्रण करना (niyantraṇ karnā), नियंत्रण (niyantraṇ), क़ाबू (qābū). See Control meaning in Hindi.
How do you use control in a sentence?: 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.
What part of speech is control?: Control can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce control?: Control is pronounced /kənˈtɹəʊl/ (UK).
What is the past tense of control?: The past tense of control is controlled.

Words near control in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-control.wav, en-us-control.ogg.

Cite this entry: “control.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/control. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.