Noun
He has people working for him, but he has a tight rein on every part of the process.
after the president resigned, the vice president stepped in and took the reins of the company Verb
try to rein in your spending, so you have some money left for saving
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Noun
Hunter, who is currently the associate artistic director at MTC, takes over the reins from Lynne Meadow, who has held the position for more than 50 years.—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025 Although there was a decade-long hiatus between the fourth and fifth entries, which saw the reins passed to Ready or Not helmers Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, the franchise remains strong.—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
Verb
Resist the urge to rein them in.—Liz Teran, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2025 Anyone who’s drinking hot pumpkin spice lattes in a chunky sweater may need to rein it in for a little while.—Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rein
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English reine, from Anglo-French resne, reine, from Vulgar Latin *retina, from Latin retinēre to restrain — more at retain
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