What does "control" mean?
An influence or authority over something.
Control
/kənˈtɹoʊl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An influence or authority over something.
- Grammar: control is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abate, ability, abnegation, absolutism.
- Useful contrasts: animalistic drive, group wide delegation, helpless.
- Usage evidence: During prohibition days, racketeers used to rub each other out to get control of the rum-running racket.
How to use "control"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "control" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "control" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "control" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "control" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "control" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "control", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An influence or authority over something. countable, uncountable
"The government has complete control over the situation."
- 2 the activity of managing or exerting control over something wordnet
- 3 The method and means of governing the performance of any apparatus, machine or system, such as a lever, handle or button. countable, uncountable
- 4 (physiology) regulation or maintenance of a function or action or reflex etc wordnet
- 5 Restraint or ability to contain one's movements or emotions, or self-control. countable, uncountable
"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."
Show 18 more definitions
- 6 a mechanism that controls the operation of a machine wordnet
- 7 A security mechanism, policy, or procedure that can counter system attack, reduce risks, and resolve vulnerabilities; a safeguard or countermeasure. countable, uncountable
- 8 discipline in personal and social activities wordnet
- 9 A means of monitoring for, and triggering intervention in, activities that are not going according to plan. countable, uncountable
- 10 power to direct or determine wordnet
- 11 A control group or control experiment. countable, uncountable
- 12 great skillfulness and knowledge of some subject or activity wordnet
- 13 A duplicate book, register, or account, kept to correct or check another account or register. countable, uncountable
"“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.”"
- 14 a standard against which other conditions can be compared in a scientific experiment wordnet
- 15 An interface element that a computer user interacts with, such as a window or a text box. countable, uncountable
- 16 the economic policy of controlling or limiting or curbing prices or wages etc. wordnet
- 17 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. countable, uncountable
- 18 a spiritual agency that is assumed to assist the medium during a seance wordnet
- 19 A construction in which the understood subject of a given predicate is determined by an expression in context. See control. countable, uncountable
- 20 a relation of constraint of one entity (thing or person or group) by another wordnet
- 21 A spirit that takes possession of a psychic or medium and allows other spirits to communicate with the living. countable, uncountable
""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.""
- 22 the state that exists when one person or group has power over another wordnet
- 23 A checkpoint along an audax route. countable
"[…] 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."
Verb
- 1 To exercise influence over; to suggest or dictate the behavior of. transitive
"With a simple remote, he could control the toy truck."
- 2 have a firm understanding or knowledge of; be on top of wordnet
- 3 (construed with for) To design (an experiment) so that the effects of one or more variables are reduced or eliminated. transitive
- 4 be careful or certain to do something; make certain of something wordnet
- 5 To verify the accuracy of (something or someone, especially a financial account) by comparison with another account. archaic, transitive
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 verify by using a duplicate register for comparison wordnet
- 7 To call to account, to take to task, to challenge. obsolete, transitive
"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."
- 8 handle and cause to function wordnet
- 9 To hold in check, to curb, to restrain. transitive
"Because only by the Capette Pellet method of hormonization can growers be assured of controlled dosage and uniform results."
- 10 maintain influence over (others or oneself) skillfully, usually to one's advantage wordnet
- 11 exercise authoritative control or power over wordnet
- 12 place under restrictions; limit access to by law wordnet
- 13 lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits wordnet
- 14 check or regulate (a scientific experiment) by conducting a parallel experiment or comparing with another standard wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"During prohibition days, racketeers used to rub each other out to get control of the rum-running racket."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "control"?
Common synonyms include: abate, ability, abnegation, absolutism, abstinence, academic authority.
How do you use "control" in a sentence?
During prohibition days, racketeers used to rub each other out to get control of the rum-running racket.
How do you pronounce "control"?
Pronounced /kənˈtɹoʊl/.
Etymology
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”). Partly displaced native Old English wealdan and Old English wieldan, whence their merged reflex English wield.