regulation

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See also: Regulation and régulation

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

From regulate +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌɹɛɡjʊˈleɪʃən/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Hyphenation: reg‧u‧la‧tion

Noun

regulation (countable and uncountable, plural regulations)

  1. (uncountable) The act of regulating or the condition of being regulated.
  2. (countable) A law or administrative rule, issued by an organization, used to guide or prescribe the conduct of members of that organization.
    Army regulations state a soldier AWOL over 30 days is a deserter.
    • 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19:
      In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […]  The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.
  3. (law, often in the plural) A type of law made by the executive branch of a government, usually as authorized by a statute made by the legislative branch giving the executive the authority to do so.
    Coordinate term: statute
    1. (countable, in the singular) A numbered provision within such kind of legislation.
      • 2023, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, “Regulation 1(2)-(3)”, in Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (Commencement No. 1 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2023, page 1:
        (2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales only, subject to paragraph (3).
        (3) This regulation and regulation 2(h) and (v)(i) and (ii) extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  4. (European Union law) A form of legislative act which is self-effecting, and requires no further intervention by the Member States to become law.
  5. (genetics) Mechanism controlling DNA transcription.
  6. (medicine) Physiological process which consists in maintaining homoeostasis.

Usage notes

  • In post-1992 Hong Kong, the singular "regulation" is used for the whole enactment, and the term "section" is used for provisions within such enactment.
    Section 3 of the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation (Cap. 241, sub. leg. K) prohibits using face covering during assemblies and demonstrations, whether they are lawful or not.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adjective

regulation (not comparable)

  1. In conformity with applicable rules and regulations.
    • 1969, Thomas Wiseman, The Quick and the Dead, page 328:
      It is regulation that these directives are to be destroyed on receipt.
    • 2004, Marc Miller, The Kettles and the Keeps: Ghosts at War, page 88:
      "The hat is regulation as well, I assume."
    • 2007, Jim Butcher, Captain's Fury, page 48:
      It is the responsibility of every legionare to be sure that he is regulation height as well.

Further reading

Anagrams