self-regulation

noun

self-reg·​u·​la·​tion ˌself-ˌre-gyə-ˈlā-shən 

-ˌre-gə-,

 also  -ˌrā-

plural self-regulations

: the act or condition or an instance of regulating oneself or itself: such as

a

: control or supervision from within instead of by an external authority

the online marketing industry's self-regulation of consumer privacy protections

also : a rule imposed in self-regulation

Banks were left to largely manage themselves, and establish industry-wide self-regulations …

—Kevin Plummer

According to the Federal Trade Commission, food marketing cannot be false, deceptive or unfair. But there are other, more specific, self-regulations out there for ads related to kids.

—Alexandra Sifferlin

b

: the bringing of oneself or itself into a state of order, method, or uniformity

self-regulation of an ecosystem

emotional self-regulation

Examples of self-regulation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is a rare but legitimate problem that requires an effective response, and where the record of self-regulation by the police (or any other profession) is objectively poor. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 1 July 2025

But the answer to bureaucratic inefficiency is not secrecy and self-regulation. —Marcus Friedman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 June 2025

King recommends a simple one-minute self-regulation exercise. —Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

Moderation The robotics community can implement self-regulation mechanisms to moderate the diffusion of high-risk material. —Ludovic Righetti, IEEE Spectrum, 10 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-regulation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration