v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Regulated p. pr. & vb. n. Regulating. ] [ L. regulatus, p. p. of regulare, fr. regula. See Regular. ] 1. To adjust by rule, method, or established mode; to direct by rule or restriction; to subject to governing principles or laws. [ 1913 Webster ]

The laws which regulate the successions of the seasons. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

The herdsmen near the frontier adjudicated their own disputes, and regulated their own police. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put in good order; as, to regulate the disordered state of a nation or its finances. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To adjust, or maintain, with respect to a desired rate, degree, or condition; as, to regulate the temperature of a room, the pressure of steam, the speed of a machine, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

To regulate a watch or
To regulate a clock, to adjust its rate of running so that it will keep approximately standard time. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To adjust; dispose; methodize; arrange; direct; order; rule; govern. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of regulating, or the state of being regulated. [ 1913 Webster ]

The temper and regulation of our own minds. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A rule or order prescribed for management or government; prescription; a regulating principle; a governing direction; precept; law; as, the regulations of a society or a school. [ 1913 Webster ]

Regulation sword,
cap,
uniform, etc. (Mil.), a sword, cap, uniform, etc., of the kind or quality prescribed by the official regulations. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Law; rule; method; principle; order; precept. See Law. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Tending to regulate; regulating. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Metaph.) Necessarily assumed by the mind as fundamental to all other knowledge; furnishing fundamental principles; as, the regulative principles, or principles a priori; the regulative faculty. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ These terms are borrowed from Kant, and suggest the thought, allowed by Kant, that possibly these principles are only true for the human mind, the operations and belief of which they regulate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, regulates. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mach.) A contrivance for regulating and controlling motion, as: (a) The lever or index in a watch, which controls the effective length of the hairspring, and thus regulates the vibrations of the balance. (b) The governor of a steam engine. (c) A valve for controlling the admission of steam to the steam chest, in a locomotive. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A clock, or other timepiece, used as a standard of correct time. See Astronomical clock (a), under Clock. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A member of a volunteer committee which, in default of the lawful authority, undertakes to preserve order and prevent crimes; also, sometimes, one of a band organized for the comission of violent crimes. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A few stood neutral, or declared in favor of the Regulators. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]