Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - control

(controls, controlling, controlled) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Control of an organization, place, or system is the power to make all the important decisions about the way that it is run. The restructuring involves Mr Ronson giving up control of the company... The first aim of his government would be to establish control over the republic’s territory. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of/over n • If you are in control of something, you have the power to make all the important decisions about the way it is run. Nobody knows who is in control of the club... In the West, people feel more in control of their own lives. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, usu PHR of n • If something is under your control, you have the power to make all the important decisions about the way that it is run. All the newspapers were taken under government control. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR 2. If you have control of something or someone, you are able to make them do what you want them to do. He lost control of his car... Some teachers have more control over pupils than their parents have. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of/over n 3. If you show control, you prevent yourself behaving in an angry or emotional way. He had a terrible temper, and sometimes he would completely lose control... He was working hard to keep control of himself. N-UNCOUNT 4. The people who control an organization or place have the power to take all the important decisions about the way that it is run. He now controls the largest retail development empire in southern California... Minebea ended up selling its controlling interest in both firms. VERB: V n, V-ing • -controlled AGA Gas is Swedish-controlled. ...the state-controlled media. COMB in ADJ 5. To control a piece of equipment, process, or system means to make it work in the way that you want it to work. ...a computerised system to control the gates... ...the controlled production of energy from sugar by a cell. VERB: V n, V-ed • -controlled ...computer-controlled traffic lights. COMB in ADJ 6. When a government controls prices, wages, or the activity of a particular group, it uses its power to restrict them. The federal government tried to control rising health-care costs. VERB: V n • Control is also a noun. Control of inflation remains the government’s absolute priority. N-UNCOUNT: with supp 7. If you control yourself, or if you control your feelings, voice, or expression, you make yourself behave calmly even though you are feeling angry, excited, or upset. Jo was advised to learn to control herself... I just couldn’t control my temper. = restrain VERB: V pron-refl, V n • controlled Her manner was quiet and very controlled. = restrained ADJ 8. To control something dangerous means to prevent it from becoming worse or from spreading. One of the biggest tasks will be to control the spread of malaria. VERB: V n 9. A control is a device such as a switch or lever which you use in order to operate a machine or other piece of equipment. I practised operating the controls. ...the control box. N-COUNT • If someone is at the controls of a machine or other piece of equipment, they are operating it. He died of a heart attack while at the controls of the plane. PHRASE 10. Controls are the methods that a government uses to restrict increases, for example in prices, wages, or weapons. Critics question whether price controls would do any good... They have very strict gun control in Sweden. N-VAR 11. Control is used to refer to a place where your documents or luggage are officially checked when you enter a foreign country. He went straight through Passport Control without incident. N-VAR: n N 12. see also air traffic control, birth control, quality control, remote control, stock control 13. If something is out of control, no-one has any power over it. The fire is burning out of control... PHRASE: usu v PHR, v-link PHR 14. If something harmful is under control, it is being dealt with successfully and is unlikely to cause any more harm. If the current violence is to be brought under control, the government needs to act. PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v