Reins

How to spell reins

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce reins

What does reins mean?

1. nounThe long straps attached to a bridle, used to guide or check a horse.
2. nounA means of guiding or restraining, especially the power to direct an organisation or activity.

Reins in a sentence

• The rider gathered the leather reins before the jump.

• She took the reins of the family business after her father retired.

• She pulled gently on the reins to slow the pony.

• The new director held the reins of the project firmly.

Where does reins come from?

Language of origin: French

This word comes from the Old French rene or resne, meaning a strap used to guide an animal, which developed from the Vulgar Latin form retina. That in turn traces back to the Latin verb retinere, 'to hold back' or 'to restrain', built from re- ('back') and tenere ('to hold'). English adopted it around the year 1300, keeping the literal idea of something you hold to check and steer a horse. The very same tenere root sits inside everyday words such as 'retain', 'contain', and 'tenant', all of which involve holding. The spelling trap is purely about sound: reins is identical in speech to 'reigns' (a monarch ruling) and 'rains' (falling water), yet only this form means the straps you hold or, by extension, control itself.

How the word is built

• rein (strap for guiding a horse)
• -s (plural)

Words that sound like reins

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• rains: To fall as water from the clouds (used of the weather, third person).