self-regulate

verb

self-reg·​u·​late ˌself-ˈre-gyə-ˌlāt 

 also  -ˈrā-

self-regulated; self-regulating; self-regulates

1

intransitive : to regulate oneself or itself

allowing markets to self-regulate

… noted the overwhelming lack of public trust in the financial services industry's ability to self-regulate effectively …

—Sally Rose

The idea is that the kids learn how to manage and self-regulate.

—Cheyenne Derksen Schroeder

2

transitive : to control or govern (something) for or by oneself

… was hired by the motion picture industry to head up a new body to self-regulate the movies.

—Katharine Monk

the ability of the child to self-regulate her behavior

… a horse who is permitted to self-regulate his intake will eat only what his body needs.

—Juliet M. Getty

self-regulative

ˌself-ˈre-gyə-ˌlā-tiv 

 also  -ˈrā-

adjective

self-regulative processes

Examples of self-regulate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The first bills up are Senate Bill 1742 (higher education), SB 1743 (human services), SB 1745 (local governments), SB 1746 (state building management), SB 1748 (self-regulating agencies, such as the Board of Dental Examiners) and SB 1749 (budget implementation). —The Arizona Republic, 14 June 2024

There are a ton of grounding techniques—box breathing, exercising, doing a mindfulness activity like a body scan—that can help you self-regulate in the moment when emotions run hot, Lurie says. —Julia Ries, SELF, 10 June 2024

Recent guidelines the court issued to self-regulate are paltry at best, and non-binding to boot. —Lourdes Rosado, New York Daily News, 17 Apr. 2024

Another 82% do not trust tech executives to self-regulate the industry. —Solcyré Burga, TIME, 4 June 2024

Attempts to self-regulate doomed to fail The Hollywood actress said Altman approached her with the request to use her voice for its latest flagship product—a ChatGPT voice bot that users can converse with, reminiscent of the fictional character Johansson played in the movie Her. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 29 May 2024

Your son’s body is sending him signals related to his environment (too loud, too quiet, too wet, too dry) and his need to sensory-seek is his best approach to self-regulate these impulses that are coming from inside the body. —Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024

Brain scans of people who spend time outdoors show their prefrontal cortex has more gray matter plus a stronger ability to think clearly and self-regulate stress and anxiety. —Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

For now, that leaves providers and the industry to self-regulate via AI assurance, which Cambridge is helping develop. —Nick Rockel, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined at sense 2