1. to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command.

2. to hold in check; curb: to control a horse; to control one's emotions.

3. to test or verify (a scientific experiment) by a parallel experiment or other standard of comparison.

4. to eliminate or prevent the flourishing or spread of: to control a forest fire.

5. Obsolete. to check or regulate (transactions), originally by means of a duplicate register.

–noun

6. the act or power of controlling; regulation; domination or command: Who's in control here?

7. the situation of being under the regulation, domination, or command of another: The car is out of control.

8. check or restraint: Her anger is under control.

9. a legal or official means of regulation or restraint: to institute wage & price controls.

10.a standard of comparison in scientific experimentation.

11. a person who acts as a check; controller.

12. a device for regulating & guiding a machine, as a motor or airplane.

13. controls, a coordinated arrangement of such devices.