control

con|trol¹ W1S1 [kənˈtrəul US -ˈtroul] n

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1¦(make somebody/something do what you want)¦

2¦(power)¦

3¦(way of limiting something)¦

4¦(ability to stay calm)¦

5¦(machine/vehicle)¦

6¦(people who organize activity)¦

7¦(scientific test)¦

8¦(computer)¦

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1.) ¦(MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING DO WHAT YOU WANT)¦[U]

the ability or power to make someone or something do what you want or make something happen in the way you want

▪ The disease robs you of muscle control.

control of/over

▪ Babies are born with very little control over their movements.

▪ Artists like to have some control over where their works are hung in a gallery.

▪ She's a good teacher who has control of her class.

▪ Students are encouraged to take control of their own learning, rather than just depending on the teacher.

▪ Excessive drinking can make you lose control of your own life.

▪ 'Do you need any help?' 'No. It's under control , thanks.'

▪ Dogs are allowed on the trails if they are kept under control .

▪ The car spun out of control and hit a tree.

▪ Flight delays do occur, for reasons that are outside our control .

2.) ¦(POWER)¦[U]

the power to make the decisions about how a country, place, company etc is organized or what it does

▪ The press was freed from political control.

control of

▪ Jordan asked for editorial control of the project.

in control (of sth)

▪ Anti-government forces are still in control of the area.

▪ By the end of the year, the rebels had control over the northern territories.

▪ The Johnson family has effective control of the company, owning almost 60% of the shares.

▪ China gained control of the island in 1683.

▪ His son is being trained to take control of the family business.

▪ The Democrats lost control of Congress in the last election.

under the control of sb

▪ The college was under the control of a group of trustees.

▪ The whole of this area came under Soviet control after World War II.

▪ The Conservatives are hoping to regain control of the city council.

3.) ¦(WAY OF LIMITING SOMETHING)¦ [U and C]

an action, method, or law that limits the amount or growth of something, especially something that is dangerous

▪ pest control

control of

▪ the control of inflation

control on

▪ The authorities imposed strict controls on the movement of cattle.

▪ an agreement on arms control (=control of the amount of weapons a country has)

under control

▪ Firefighters had the blaze under control by 9:44 p.m.

▪ Shea used diet and exercise to bring her weight under control .

▪ The Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates to keep inflation under control .

rent/price/wage etc controls

▪ Rent controls ensured that no one paid too much for housing.

tight/rigid controls

(=strict controls)

▪ The government favours the introduction of tighter controls on immigration.

▪ Police used fire hoses and dogs for crowd control .

4.) ¦(ABILITY TO STAY CALM)¦[U]

the ability to remain calm even when you feel very angry, upset, or excited

▪ There were sudden tears in his eyes and he paused, fighting for control.

▪ Davidson lost control of himself and started yelling.

▪ Small children can't be expected to have the same self-control (=ability to control their emotions and behaviour) as an adult.

under control

▪ Her voice is under control, but she is almost shaking with anger.

in control

▪ I felt calm and in control.

5.) ¦(MACHINE/VEHICLE)¦

the thing that you press or turn to make a machine, vehicle, television etc work

▪ the TV remote control

▪ the volume control on the radio

▪ a car with manual controls

at the controls

(=controlling a vehicle or aircraft)

▪ Belton, at the controls, made a perfect landing.

6.) ¦(PEOPLE WHO ORGANIZE ACTIVITY)¦ [singular, U]

the people who direct an activity or who check that something is done correctly, the place where this is done, or the process of doing it

▪ air-traffic control

▪ Please stop at passport control.

▪ computers used for stock control

7.) ¦(SCIENTIFIC TEST)¦

a) a person, group etc against which you compare another person or group that is very similar, in order to see if a particular quality is caused by something or happens by chance

control group/population/sample etc

▪ A control group of non-smoking women were compared to four groups of women smokers.

b) a thing that you already know the result for that is used in a scientific test, in order to show that your method is working correctly

→↑controlled experiment

8.) ¦(COMPUTER)¦ also control key [singular]

a particular button on a computer that allows you to do certain operations

▪ Press control and F2 to exit.

→↑birth control, ↑quality control, ↑remote control

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

have control (over/of something)

take/gain control (of/over something)

fight/struggle for control (of/over something)

lose control (of/over something)

be under control

keep something under control (=keep something happening in the way you want)

get/go out of control (=stop happening in the way you want)

beyond/outside somebody's control (=impossible for someone to control)

full/total control

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control ²

control² W1S2 past tense and past participle controlled present participle controlling

v [T]

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1¦(power)¦

2¦(limit)¦

3¦(make somebody/something do what you want)¦

4¦(emotion)¦

5¦(machine/process/system)¦

6¦(check something)¦

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[Date: 1400-1500; : Anglo-French; Origin: contreroller 'to keep a copy of an official document in rolled-up form', from Medieval Latin contrarotulare, from contrarotulus 'copy of a roll', from Latin contra- ( CONTRA-) + rotulus 'roll']

1.) ¦(POWER)¦

to have the power to make the decisions about how a country, place, company etc is organized or what it does

▪ The Democrats continued to control the Senate until last year.

▪ a huge company controlling half the world's coffee trade

Labour-/Republican-/Democrat- etc controlled

▪ a Conservative-controlled council

2.) ¦(LIMIT)¦

to limit the amount or growth of something, especially something that is dangerous

▪ a chemical used to control weeds

▪ an economic plan to control inflation

▪ Development in areas of outstanding natural beauty is strictly controlled.

▪ Strict measures were taken to control the spread of foot and mouth disease.

3.) ¦(MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING DO WHAT YOU WANT)¦

to make someone or something do what you want, or make something happen in the way that you want

▪ Police had to be called in to control the crowds.

▪ a skilled rider controlling a spirited horse

▪ a controlling parent

4.) ¦(EMOTION)¦

if you control your emotions, your voice, your expression etc, you succeed in behaving calmly and sensibly, even though you feel angry, upset, or excited

▪ Sarah took a deep breath, trying to control her anger.

▪ He controlled the urge to laugh.

control yourself

▪ Newman controlled himself with an effort.

5.) ¦(MACHINE/PROCESS/SYSTEM)¦

to make a machine, process, or system work in a particular way

▪ a radio-controlled toy car

▪ A thermostat controls the temperature in the building.

control how/what/which etc

▪ The valves in the heart control how quickly the blood is pumped around the body.

6.) ¦(CHECK SOMETHING)¦

to make sure that something is done correctly

= ↑check, monitor ↑monitor

▪ The company strictly controls the quality of its products.

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WORD CHOICE: control, manage, run, be in charge

To control something means to have the power to make it work in the way that you want, usually without anyone else being able to stop you : The army controls the north of the country. |With 75% of the shares, he effectively controls the company.

To manage something means to organize the way that it works, often with responsibility for other people's work : She manages a team of software developers. | David managed a small bookstore.

To run something such as a business means to organize it and take the important decisions about how it works, perhaps as the owner of the business : I run my own cleaning business. | Louise will be running the project.

To be in charge means to have responsibility for a situation or activity and decide what happens in it : When the Director is away, her deputy is in charge. | He's in charge of marketing.

WORD CHOICE: control , check , inspect , examine , test , monitor

!! Do not use control to mean 'check' or 'test'. Use one of the following verbs:

check or inspect means to look at something carefully to see if it is correct, safe, or legal : Your passports will be checked on arrival. | Safety officers inspected the building.

examine means to look at something very carefully in order to find out more about it : Experts who examined the letter declared it a fake.

test means to carry out an experiment or process in order to find out what qualities something has : They test blood samples for drugs. |Every car is tested to ensure that it meets high safety standards.

monitor means to keep checking or testing something over a period of time to see if it changes : Her heart rate is being monitored. |This device monitors room temperature and humidity.

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