Definition, synonyms and related words
plural of control
"The new dashboard includes several controls that let you adjust the brightness and volume independently."
In plain English: Controls are things you can use to make something work the way you want it to.
"The car's controls are simple and easy to reach."
Usage: Use controls to refer to devices or mechanisms that allow you to operate or regulate something, such as buttons on a remote or levers on a machine. Do not use this word when referring to a person in charge, which should be expressed as the singular noun "controller" or phrases like "person in charge."
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of control
"The driver knows that pressing the pedal controls the car's speed."
In plain English: To control something means to manage or direct it so that it does what you want.
"The remote control allows you to change the channel without getting up from the couch."
Usage: Use controls when describing the third-person singular action of managing or regulating something, such as when a machine operator controls the temperature. Avoid using it to mean "contains" or "includes," which are distinct meanings often confused in casual speech.
Derived from the Latin contrōlāre, meaning to steer with both hands, this term originally referred to checking or verifying accounts by comparing records against physical assets. It later evolved in English to denote the act of regulating or commanding something through a system of checks and balances.