Meaning & use
controlled environment
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Meanings
nouncountable
A place where conditions such as temperature, light, and humidity are managed to keep them steady for a purpose.
Grammar: Countable noun: you can say 'a controlled environment' or 'controlled environments'.
Patterns
- in a controlled environment
- create a controlled environment
- a controlled environment for something
The plants are grown in a controlled environment to protect them from pests.
Scientists use a controlled environment to test how materials react to heat.
The laboratory provides a controlled environment for delicate experiments.
nouncountable
A setting where rules or conditions are kept strictly managed, often to ensure safety or fairness.
Grammar: Countable noun; often used in business or social contexts.
Patterns
- a controlled environment for something
- maintain a controlled environment
The company created a controlled environment for the negotiation to avoid leaks.
Prisons are a type of controlled environment where movement is restricted.
Word forms
| plural | controlled environments |
|---|
Common combinations
- a controlled environment for plants
- The greenhouse provides a controlled environment for plants.
- in a controlled environment
- The animals are kept in a controlled environment.
- create a controlled environment
- Engineers create a controlled environment to test the device.
- maintain a controlled environment
- It is expensive to maintain a controlled environment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- regulated setting
- Regulated setting is broader and can refer to rules rather than physical conditions; controlled environment often implies physical conditions like temperature.
- managed conditions
- Managed conditions is less formal and less common as a fixed phrase; controlled environment is the standard term in science.
Opposites
Word family
- control verb
- To manage or direct something.
- environment noun
- The natural world or the conditions in which someone or something exists.
- environmental adjective
- Relating to the natural world or to surrounding conditions.
Commonly confused: controlled environment or controlled variable?
controlled environment vs controlled variable
In experiments, a controlled variable is a factor kept constant; a controlled environment is the overall space where conditions are managed.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'controlled environment' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A controlled environment is a place with managed conditions, so growing bacteria in one is correct. Option An is vague and unusual; option C is grammatically wrong; option D contradicts the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “controlled environment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.