reg·u·la·tor

[reg-yuh-ley-ter]
noun
1.
a person or thing that regulates.
2.
Horology.
a.
an adjustable device in a clock or a watch for making it go faster or slower.
b.
a master clock, usually of great accuracy, against which other clocks are checked.
3.
Machinery.
a.
a governor mechanism for regulating the flow of fuel, steam, etc., to an engine in order to maintain constant speed under varying load or resistance.
b.
a valve for regulating the pressure of flowing gas or liquid to maintain a predetermined pressure.
c.
any of various mechanisms for maintaining a temperature, a level of liquid in a tank, etc.
4.
Electricity. a device for maintaining a designated characteristic, as voltage or current, at a predetermined value, or for varying it according to a predetermined plan.
5.
a device on scuba equipment for regulating the rate at which compressed air is fed through a breathing tube in proportion to the depth of water.
6.
a device for maintaining a constant gas pressure.
7.
( initial capital letter ) American History.
a.
a member of any of several bands or committees in North Carolina (1767–71), formed to resist certain abuses, as extortion by officials.
b.
(in newly settled areas) a member of any band or committee organized to preserve order before the establishment of regular legal authority.

Origin:
1645–55; regulate + -or2

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To regulator
00:10
Regulator is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
regulator (ˈrɛɡjʊˌleɪtə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a person or thing that regulates
2.  the mechanism, including the hairspring and the balance wheel, by which the speed of a timepiece is regulated
3.  a timepiece, known to be accurate, by which others are timed and regulated
4.  any of various mechanisms or devices, such as a governor valve, for controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, voltage, etc
5.  Also called: regulator gene a gene the product of which controls the synthesis of a product from another gene

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Example sentences
It has to be the home regulator that approves the prospectus.
Health claims on food products have been an area of contention between
  manufacturers and the regulator for many years.
The regulator can do the opposite, too: it can unblock the ribosome on command
  in order to start making that protein.
Well they might, for astonishingly the nuclear regulator itself has a history
  of corruption.
Images for regulator
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