Meanings
present singular third person reins in · participle present reining in · participle past reined in · past reined in
- figurativelyTo stop or slow something, by exercising control.
The government has no other option than to rein in public spending.
1 more example
“As you are well aware, over the last few months we’ve made a considerable effort to rein in costs, but it simply hasn’t been enough,” Daniel Ek, Spotify’s chief executive, said in a note to employees on Monday.
2023 January 23, Isabella Simonetti, quoting Daniel Ek, “Spotify to Lay Off 6% of Its Work Force”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 30 Mar 2023
Synonyms & antonyms
verbstop or slow up one's horse or oneself by or as if by pulling the reins
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Dutch beteugelen
- beteugelenstop or slow something
Finnish pysäyttää, hillitä
- pysäyttäästop or slow a horse
- hillitästop or slow a horse
- suitsiastop or slow something
- hillitästop or slow something
German zügeln, zügeln
- zügelnstop or slow a horse
- zügelnstop or slow something
Hungarian megzaboláz, megzaboláz
- megzabolázstop or slow a horse
- megzabolázstop or slow something
Polish zatrzymywać konia, zatrzymać konia
- zatrzymywać koniastop or slow a horse
- zatrzymać koniastop or slow a horse
- zatrzymywaćstop or slow something
- zatrzymaćstop or slow something
- kontrolowaćstop or slow something
- panowaćstop or slow something
- stopowaćstop or slow something
Portuguese frear, frear
- frearstop or slow a horse
- frearstop or slow something
Russian обу́здывать, сде́рживать
- обу́здывать (obúzdyvatʹ)stop or slow something
- сде́рживать (sdérživatʹ)stop or slow something
Spanish sofrenar, sofrenar
- sofrenarstop or slow a horse
- sofrenarstop or slow something
Swedish tygla
- tyglastop or slow something
Cite this entry
rein in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rein%20in
“rein in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rein%20in. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rein in,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rein%20in.
Source: rein in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.