Restricting

How to spell restricting

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce restricting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does restricting mean?

1. verbLimiting or keeping something within set bounds, or preventing free movement or action.

Restricting in a sentence

• The new policy is restricting access to the upper floors after hours.

• Her doctor recommended restricting salt to lower her blood pressure.

Where does restricting come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the present participle of the verb 'restrict', which comes from the Latin restringere, meaning 'to bind back' or 'to draw tightly'. That verb was built from the prefix re-, meaning 'back', and stringere, meaning 'to pull tight' or 'to bind'. English adopted 'restrict' in the early 1500s by way of the Latin past participle restrictus, and the sense of holding something within limits grew naturally out of the literal idea of tying it tightly. The same stringere root sits inside relatives such as 'stringent', 'strict', and even 'strain', all of which carry the idea of tension or tightness. The double letters in the middle, the -ict cluster, trace straight back to that Latin restrictus, which is a useful reminder when spelling it.

How the word is built

• re- (back)
• strict (from stringere: to draw tight, bind)
• -ing (present participle suffix)