regulate

verb

Save Word

reg·u·late | \ ˈre-gyə-ˌlāt also ˈrā-

regulated; regulating

Definition of regulate

transitive verb

1a : to govern or direct according to rule

b(1) : to bring under the control of law or constituted authority

(2) : to make regulations for or concerning regulate the industries of a country

2 : to bring order, method, or uniformity to regulate one's habits

3 : to fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of regulate the pressure of a tire

Other Words from regulate Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about regulate

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of regulate in a Sentence

The dam regulates the flow of water into the river. We need better laws to regulate the content of the Internet. Laws have been made to regulate working conditions. The government regulates how much lead may be found in our water supply. The department regulates foreign trade.

Recent Examples on the Web If information is being requested as part of an effort to regulate a student loan servicer and the department believes that regulation is pre-empted by federal law, then the data won't be released, a department spokesman said. — NBC News, "Comedian Hasan Minhaj tells Congress that student borrowers are 'treated like deadbeats'," 10 Sep. 2019 During a study session Tuesday , the City Council heard a report on the pros and cons of short-term rentals and studies on what four other coastal communities are doing to regulate them. — Priscella Vega, Daily Pilot, "Huntington Beach council explores lifting prohibition on short-term vacation rentals," 6 Sep. 2019 The Amazon’s plants play an active role in regulating the ecosystem. — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, "4 Reasons Why We Need the Amazon Rainforest," 4 Sep. 2019 Politicians have played football, cheered for it and even proposed legislation to regulate it. — Jamie Hancock, Dallas News, "Quiz: How well do you know football's connections to politics?," 27 Aug. 2019 In Congress, a bipartisan bill, supported by the ISA industry, would seek to regulate them as a unique category, distinct from student loans, setting guardrails on certain terms like caps on total payments and a minimum income threshold. — Gregory Barber, WIRED, "Lambda School's For-Profit Plan to Solve Student Debt," 26 Aug. 2019 The proposal, which was released as part of Warren’s campaign for President, would both break up the major technology companies and regulate them more heavily. — Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, "How Elizabeth Warren Came Up with a Plan to Break Up Big Tech," 20 Aug. 2019 Meanwhile, Congress began hearings on whether and how to regulate it on a national level. — Kentaro Toyama, The Conversation, "Bring on the technology bans!," 19 Aug. 2019 But even Republicans in Congress, who generally resist any effort to regulate ISPs, have complained about the inaccurate maps, raising pressure on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and industry to fix the problem. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "FCC finally orders ISPs to say exactly where they offer broadband," 1 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'regulate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.