regulation

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of regulating or the state of being regulated.
• noun A principle, rule, or law designed to control or govern conduct.
• noun A governmental order having the force of law.
• noun Embryology The capacity of an embryo to continue normal development following injury to or alteration of a structure.
• noun Sports The standard playing period for a timed game, prior to overtime or a shootout.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To bring under regulations; cause to conform to rules.
• noun In biology, readjustment which restores the completeness of the whole in a part that has been removed from the body of an organism or in an organism that has lost part of its body.
• noun The act of regulating, or the state of being regulated or reduced to order.
• noun A rule or order prescribed by a superior or competent authority as to the actions of those under its control; a governing direction; precept; law: as, police regulations; more specifically, a rule prescribed by a municipality, corporation, or society for the conduct of third persons dealing with it, as distinguished from
• noun bylaw, a term which is generally used rather with reference to the standing rules governing its own internal organization and the conduct of its officers and members, and
• noun ordinance, which is generally used in the United States for the local legislation of municipalities.
• noun In musical instruments with a keyboard, the act or process of adjusting the action so that it shall be noiseless, prompt, and sensitive to every variation of touch.
• noun Synonyms Disposition, ordering, adjustment.
• noun Ordinance, Statute, etc. See law.
• Having a fixed or regulated pattern or style; in accord with a rule or standard.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of regulating, or the state of being regulated.
• noun A rule or order prescribed for management or government; prescription; a regulating principle; a governing direction; precept; law.
• noun (Mil.) a sword, cap, uniform, etc., of the kind or quality prescribed by the official regulations.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun uncountable The act of regulating or the condition of being regulated.
• noun countable A law or administrative rule, issued by an organization, used to guide or prescribe the conduct of members of that organization.
• noun European Union law A form of legislative act which is self-effecting, and requires no further intervention by the Member States to become law.
• adjective In conformity with applicable rules and regulations.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an authoritative rule
• noun a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
• noun (embryology) the ability of an early embryo to continue normal development after its structure has been somehow damaged or altered
• noun the state of being controlled or governed
• adjective prescribed by or according to regulation
• noun the act of bringing to uniformity; making regular
• noun the act of controlling or directing according to rule