Control Meaning
/kənˈtɹəʊl/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo exercise influence over; to suggest or dictate the behavior of.
verb(construed with for) To design (an experiment) so that the effects of one or more variables are reduced or eliminated.
Sentence Examples
You must control yourself.
I'm very impressed with your quality control.
The party expects to gain control of the council in the next election.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The pilot struggled to ____ the plane during the severe storm.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You must ____ yourself.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English controllen, from Old French contrerole, from Medieval Latin contrārotulus (“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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"This was a wonderful advert for the Premier League, with both Chelsea and United intent on all-out attack - but Ferguson will be concerned at how his side lost their way after imperiously controlling much of the first period."
— 2011 March 1, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC:
"In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra–wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised."
— 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19:
"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."
— c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 64, lines 94–99:
"Because only by the Capette Pellet method of hormonization can growers be assured of controlled dosage and uniform results."
— 1956, American Poultry Journal, volume 87, page 32:
"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."
— 2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Times:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The pilot struggled to ____ the plane during the severe storm.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You must ____ yourself.