REGULATOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does regulator mean? 

• REGULATOR (noun)
  The noun REGULATOR has 3 senses:

1. any of various controls or devices for regulating or controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, etc.

2. an official responsible for control and supervision of a particular activity or area of public interest

3. a control that maintains a steady speed in a machine (as by controlling the supply of fuel)

  Familiarity information: REGULATOR used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REGULATOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various controls or devices for regulating or controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("regulator" is a kind of...):

control; controller (a mechanism that controls the operation of a machine)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "regulator"):

aperture (a device that controls amount of light admitted)

ball cock; ballcock (floating ball that controls level in a water tank)

draft (a regulator for controlling the flow of air in a fireplace)

faucet; spigot (a regulator for controlling the flow of a liquid from a reservoir)

peg (regulator that can be turned to regulate the pitch of the strings of a stringed instrument)

petcock (regulator consisting of a small cock or faucet or valve for letting out air or releasing compression or draining)

register (a regulator (as a sliding plate) for regulating the flow of air into a furnace or other heating device)

escape; escape cock; escape valve; relief valve; safety valve (a valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler); it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level)

floodgate; head gate; penstock; sluice valve; sluicegate; water gate (regulator consisting of a valve or gate that controls the rate of water flow through a sluice)

thermoregulator; thermostat (a regulator for automatically regulating temperature by starting or stopping the supply of heat)

Derivation:

regulate (fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An official responsible for control and supervision of a particular activity or area of public interest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("regulator" is a kind of...):

functionary; official (a worker who holds or is invested with an office)

Derivation:

regulate (bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A control that maintains a steady speed in a machine (as by controlling the supply of fuel)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

governor; regulator

Hypernyms ("regulator" is a kind of...):

control; controller (a mechanism that controls the operation of a machine)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "regulator"):

flywheel (regulator consisting of a heavy wheel that stores kinetic energy and smooths the operation of a reciprocating engine)

timer (a regulator that activates or deactivates a mechanism at set times)

 Context examples 

This allele, which encodes BAG family molecular chaperone regulator 4 protein, plays a role in the regulation of apoptosis through the suppression of both tumor necrosis factor receptor signaling and protein chaperone function.

(BAG4 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

This mitochondrial allele, which encodes apoptosis regulator Bcl-2 protein, is involved in apoptosis and sub-cellular signal transduction.

(BCL2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

The absence of estrogen receptor or of MTA3 leads to aberrant expression of the transcriptional repressor Snail, a master regulator of epithelial to mesenchymal transitions.

(MTA3 Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

NF1 gene expression is most abundant in the adult nervous system; neurofibromin may act as a negative regulator of neurotrophin-mediated signaling.

(Neurofibromin, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes BAG family molecular chaperone regulator 3 protein, plays a role in the modulation of both apoptosis and protein folding.

(BAG3 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

BAG family molecular chaperone regulator 3 (575 aa, ~62 kDa) is encoded by the human BAG3 gene.

(BAG Family Molecular Chaperone Regulator 3, NCI Thesaurus)

Apoptosis regulator Bcl-2 (239 aa, ~26 kDa) is encoded by the human BCL2 gene.

(Apoptosis Regulator Bcl-2, NCI Thesaurus)

COX-related metabolic pathways may represent crucial regulators of cellular proliferation and angiogenesis.

(Apricoxib, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes transcriptional regulator ATRX protein, is involved in the modulation of both transcription and chromatin structure.

(ATRX wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes transcription regulator protein BACH2, plays a role in the regulation of transcription.

(BACH2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)