Regulate

How to spell regulate

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce regulate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does regulate mean?

1. verbTo control or manage something by rules, or to adjust it to work at a correct or steady level.

Regulate in a sentence

• New laws will regulate how lenders advertise interest rates.

• The thermostat helps regulate the temperature in every room.

Where does regulate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin regulare, meaning 'to control or direct by a rule', which was built on regula, literally a straight stick or ruler used as a measuring standard. That noun in turn comes from the verb regere, 'to lead straight, to guide or rule', the same deep root that gave us 'regent', 'regime', and even 'royal'. English adopted 'regulate' in the early 1600s, drawing on the Late Latin past participle regulatus, with the meaning of adjusting something so that it conforms to a set standard or rule. Over time the sense broadened from simply applying a rule to controlling rates, flows, and temperatures, as in regulating traffic or a thermostat. The spelling stays close to its Latin parent, so remembering 'regula', the measuring rule, helps fix the single 'g' and the -ate ending in place.

How the word is built

• regul- (from regula: rule, straight stick)
• -ate (verb suffix)