Restrict

How to spell restrict

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce restrict

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does restrict mean?

1. verbTo keep something within limits, or to prevent free movement, action, or access.

Restrict in a sentence

• The new lease will restrict the number of guests allowed in the flat.

• Doctors often advise patients to restrict their salt intake.

Where does restrict come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This verb comes from the Latin restringere, which meant 'to bind back' or 'to tie tightly', formed from re- 'back' and stringere 'to draw tight or bind'. English took the word from the past participle stem restrictus, the same form that gives us the related adjective 'strict'. When it entered English in the fifteenth century it carried the sense of holding something in, confining it within set limits, much as a cord binds a bundle. The same stringere root also lies behind 'stringent', 'constrain', and 'stricture', all of which share the idea of tightness or pressure. Knowing that the word ends in the strong -ct cluster, just like 'strict' itself, is a useful guard against writing it with a single t.

How the word is built

• re- (back)
• strict (from Latin stringere: to draw tight, bind)