the power to influence or direct people's behaviour or the course of events

the whole operation is under the control of a production manager

the situation was slipping out of her control

a person or thing used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of a survey or experiment

platelet activity was higher in patients with the disease than in the controls

a member of an intelligence organization who personally directs the activities of a spy

he sat with his KGB control as the details of his new assignment were explained

a high card that will prevent the opponents from establishing a particular suit

he has controls in both minor suits

determine the behaviour or supervise the running of

he was appointed to control the company's marketing strategy

take into account (an extraneous factor that might affect the results of an experiment)

no attempt was made to control for variations