Regulate /(-lāt)/

Reg·u·late

Regulate

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Regulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Regulating

  1. To adjust by rule, method, or established mode; to direct by rule or restriction; to subject to governing principles or laws.
    The laws which regulate the successions of the seasons.
    The herdsmen near the frontier adjudicated their own disputes, and regulated their own police.
  2. To put in good order; as, to regulate the disordered state of a nation or its finances.
  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.

Phrases & Compounds
To regulate a watch
to adjust its rate of running so that it will keep approximately standard time.