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 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.
• 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.

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