Regulate | Vocabulary | Khan Academy

All right wordsmiths, what's up? The word of the day today is "regulate." It means to make rules that control something. I'll throw in a 10-second music break. Tell me if you can identify any other common English words that start with "Reg."

Alright, here we go, music break. [Music]

All right, so some related words are "regular," "regiment," "regime." All of these words are related to control or order. "Regulate" comes from the Latin root "reg," meaning straight, like a ruler. Something that's regular follows a rule or a pattern—it's predictable.

So, something that is regulated has been controlled by a rule—that's what that eight part means. It's a word part that makes verbs because "regulate" is a verb; it's an action word. So, let's use "regulate" in some sentences. You can use it in a literal sense like this: "This valve regulates how much fuel goes into the engine." It is literally controlling the rate of fuel release.

But you can also use "regulate" to refer to lawmaking, and I can use another word part to make this verb into a noun. So, okay, we've got the word "regulate," and let me lop off the “e” on the end and add “i-o-n,” and now it's a noun: "regulation." Another word for a legal rule.

State regulations only allow you to catch three fish a week. So here's two fisherfolk: dude, this woman has three fish, so she's fine. This man has four fish, so, uh, he's probably gonna get a fine from Fish and Wildlife because he didn't adhere to the regulations. Sorry, pal, you've been canceled by the government.

All right, you can learn anything. David out.