Word.ws English Dictionary

pull the reins in on something

pull the reins in on something verb: to restrict, curtail, curb; to slow down or reduce.

Verb

pull the reins in on something (third-person singular simple present pulls the reins in on something, present participle pulling the reins in on something, simple past and past participle pulled the reins in on something)

  1. To restrict, curtail, curb; to slow down or reduce.
    • It's anyone's guess whether Union Carbide Industrial Gases will ever pull the reins in on network projects in the face of slow business.1989 July 24, Compnies still backing the efforts of net managers, editorial in Network World, page 28
    • The tendency will be to take smaller steps when your legs cross and larger steps when your legs uncross. Pull the reins in on the uncross and extend assertively on the cross over.2006, Chris Previc, The Student's Guide to Marching, page 115

Forms of pull the reins in on something

third-person singular presentpulls the reins in on something
present participlepulling the reins in on something
past participlepulled the reins in on something
pastpulled the reins in on something

Origin of pull the reins in on something

Metaphor, referring to the control of a horse.

Questions about pull the reins in on something

What does pull the reins in on something mean?
Pull the reins in on something means to restrict, curtail, curb; to slow down or reduce.
What part of speech is pull the reins in on something?
Pull the reins in on something is a verb.
What is the past tense of pull the reins in on something?
The past tense of pull the reins in on something is pulled the reins in on something.

Words near pull the reins in on something in the dictionary

  1. pull the other one, it's got brass bells on
  2. pull the pin
  3. pull the plug
  4. pull the pud
  5. pull the reins in on someone
  6. pull the reins in on something
  7. pull the rug
  8. pull the rug out from under
  9. pull the shutters down
  10. pull the string
  11. pull the trigger

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pull the reins in on something (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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