# regulator

Pronunciation: US say "REG-yoo-lay-tur" /ˈɹɛɡ.ju.leɪ.tɚ/; UK say "REG-yuu-lay-tuh" /ˈɹɛɡ.jʊ.leɪ.tə/

## Noun

1. A device that controls or limits the flow, level, or operation of something.
   - Simple: A part or machine that keeps something at a set level or within safe limits.
   - _The valve's regulator maintains a constant flow despite changes in supply pressure._
   - _Engineers installed a regulator to keep the system from overheating._
2. A person or organization that sets standards of practice and enforces rules, especially under powers granted by law.
   - Simple: A person or group with the power to set and enforce rules for an industry or activity.
   - _The environmental regulator ordered the factory to cut its emissions._
   - _Regulators across Europe agreed on stricter safety standards for toys._
3. Shortened form of voltage regulator. — Ellipsis of voltage regulator.
   - Simple: Shortened form of voltage regulator. It keeps electric power at a steady level.
   - _The alternator's regulator maintains a steady output as engine speed changes._
   - _Technicians replaced the regulator after the voltage spiked._
4. On a steam locomotive, the valve that sets how much steam is admitted to the cylinders.
   - Simple: On a steam train, the valve or handle that controls how much steam reaches the engine.
   - _Pulling back the regulator cut off steam to the cylinders and the locomotive coasted._
   - _An experienced fireman watched as the driver opened the regulator on the long climb._
5. In genetics, a gene that plays a part in controlling how one or more other genes are expressed.
   - Simple: A gene that helps turn other genes on or off.
   - _The newly identified regulator suppresses several genes during embryonic development._
   - _Mutations in the regulator can disrupt the timing of cell division._
6. A highly accurate clock used by clockmakers as a standard against which to check the timekeeping of each newly made clock.
   - Simple: A very exact clock that clockmakers use to check how well each new clock keeps time.
   - _Each finished movement was compared to the regulator before it left the workshop._
   - _The workshop's regulator stood in a sealed case to keep its rate constant._
7. In algebraic number theory, a positive real number attached to a number field that measures how densely its units are spaced, as described by Dirichlet's unit theorem.
   - Simple: In higher math, a positive number that measures how spread out a special set of values is.
   - _Computing the regulator of a number field requires finding a system of fundamental units._
   - _For a real quadratic field, the regulator is the logarithm of the fundamental unit._
8. A member of an armed group of white Southerners in the United States who used intimidation and violence, especially during the Reconstruction era.
   - Simple: In the past, a member of a violent group of white Southerners who used force to scare others.
   - _Bands of regulators terrorized freedmen who tried to vote that fall._
   - _A notorious regulator was finally arrested after years of intimidation._

## Origin

Formed from the verb "regulate" with the suffix "-or."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/regulator (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).