Meaning & use
regulate
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To control how an activity, industry or behavior works by setting official rules that people must follow.
Grammar: Takes an object: the government regulates banks.
Patterns
- regulate something
- regulate how/what/whether something happens
The city council voted to regulate short-term apartment rentals more strictly.
Food safety agencies regulate how restaurants store and label ingredients.
Few countries regulate the use of drones near airports as tightly as they should.
verbtransitive
To keep a machine, process or body function running at a steady, suitable level, often by adjusting it as conditions change.
Grammar: Takes an object: a valve regulates the flow, and the object is usually a rate or level.
Patterns
- regulate something
- regulate something with something
A small thermostat regulates the temperature of the whole house.
Your kidneys help regulate the amount of water in your blood.
She wore a heart monitor to regulate her training intensity.
Word forms
| third person singular | regulates |
|---|---|
| past tense | regulated |
| past participle | regulated |
| -ing form | regulating |
Common combinations
- tightly regulated
- Pharmaceuticals are among the most tightly regulated products in the world.
- regulate the flow
- A tap lets you regulate the flow of water into the sink.
- regulate body temperature
- Sweating is one way the body regulates its temperature.
- regulate emotions
- Young children are still learning to regulate their emotions.
- regulate an industry
- A new agency was created to regulate the energy industry.
Synonyms and how they differ
- control
- Control is broader and need not involve rules, while regulate suggests managing something within set limits or standards.
- govern
- Govern stresses having authority over something, whereas regulate focuses on the detailed rules or adjustments that keep it in order.
- adjust
- Adjust describes a single change to something, but regulate implies keeping it at a steady level over time.
- supervise
- Supervise means watching over people or work to make sure it is done properly, while regulate sets the rules or levels themselves.
Opposites
Word family
- regulation noun
- an official rule, or the act of controlling something
- regulator noun
- a body or device that regulates
- regulatory adjective
- relating to the making or enforcing of rules
- deregulate verb
- to remove rules from an industry
- unregulated adjective
- not controlled by any rules
Commonly confused: regulate or regularize?
regulate vs regularize
Regularize means to make something regular or legal in status, while regulate means to control it by rules or adjustment.
Practice
Which sentence uses regulate correctly?
Choose one answer.
Regulate means to control something so it stays at a proper level, as the device does with fuel. The other options use it with objects that cannot be controlled in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “regulate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.