self-regulation

noun

self-reg·​u·​la·​tion ˌself-ˌre-gyə-ˈlā-shən 

-ˌre-gə-

also -ˌrā-

plural self-regulations

: the act or condition or an instance of regulating oneself or itself: such as

a

: control or supervision from within instead of by an external authority

the online marketing industry's self-regulation of consumer privacy protections

also : a rule imposed in self-regulation

Banks were left to largely manage themselves, and establish industry-wide self-regulations …

—Kevin Plummer

According to the Federal Trade Commission, food marketing cannot be false, deceptive or unfair. But there are other, more specific, self-regulations out there for ads related to kids.

—Alexandra Sifferlin

b

: the bringing of oneself or itself into a state of order, method, or uniformity

self-regulation of an ecosystem

emotional self-regulation

Examples of self-regulation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Leaders who excel at self-awareness and self-regulation tend to build stronger team cohesion and resilience. —Cheryl Robinson, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Developing such a capacity would require metacognition, which involves both the ability to monitor one’s own reasoning through self-awareness and to control the response through self-regulation. —Ricky J. Sethi, The Conversation, 26 Jan. 2026

The child decides how much to share and when, reinforcing a sense of agency over their emotional experience, which is an essential foundation for self-regulation and confidence. —Reem Raouda, CNBC, 18 Jan. 2026

The way outflow mechanisms seesawed for this black hole suggests a natural mechanism of self-regulation, and that jets and winds compete for the same matter. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-regulation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration