self-regulation

noun

self-reg·​u·​la·​tion ˌself-ˌre-gyə-ˈlā-shən How to pronounce self-regulation (audio)
-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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Compared with his peers like Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Zuckerberg has been more in the camp of self-regulation, alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. — Ari Levy, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026 That’s by order of the President, who summoned the captains of the AI industry to the nation’s capital Tuesday to discuss AI safety and AI regulation…or, self-regulation. — Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026 Added to that is an air of concern regarding data privacy and the potential for labor market disruption that self-regulation will not be sufficient to mitigate. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 20 Sep. 2026 Protecting minors has largely fallen to parents, schools, and self-regulation by some social media providers. — IEEE Spectrum, 14 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for self-regulation

Word History

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-regulation was in 1698

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Self-regulation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-regulation. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster