regulate

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin regulatus, past participle of regulō (“to direct, rule, regulate”), from regula (“rule”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”). Compare regle, rail. Displaced native Old English metegian. Equivalent to regular + -ate.

verb

1. To dictate policy.
2. To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.
   But on Tuesday, Sam Altman[…] testified before members of a Senate subcommittee and largely agreed with them on the need to regulate the increasingly powerful A.I. technology being created inside his company and others like Google and Microsoft. 2023-05-16, Cecilia Kang, “OpenAI’s Sam Altman Urges A.I. Regulation in Senate Hearing”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. To adjust (a mechanism) for accurate and proper functioning.
   to regulate a watch, i.e. adjust its rate of running so that it will keep approximately standard time
   to regulate the temperature of a room, the pressure of steam, the speed of a machine, etc.
4. To put or maintain in order.
   to regulate the disordered state of a nation or its finances
   to regulate one's eating habits