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rein

Pronunciation: /reɪn/

Translate rein | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of rein

noun

(usually reins)
  • a long, narrow strap attached at one end to a horse’s bit, typically used in pairs to guide or check a horse in riding or driving.
  • British a pair of straps used to restrain a young child: some of the children wore leather baby reins
  • the power to direct and control:a new chairperson will soon take over the reins

verb

[with object and adverbial]
  • check or guide (a horse) by pulling on its reins:he reined in his horse and waited
  • keep under control; restrain:with an effort, she reined back her impatience the government had failed to rein in public spending

Phrases

draw rein

British stop one’s horse: he drew rein and waited for his friend to catch up

(a) free rein

freedom of action or expression:he was given free rein to work out his designs

keep a tight rein on

exercise strict control over:her only chance of survival was to keep a tight rein on her feelings

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French rene, based on Latin retinere 'retain'

The idiomatic phrase a free rein, which derives from the literal meaning of using reins to control a horse, is sometimes misinterpreted and written as a free reign. More than a third of the citations for the phrase in the Oxford English Corpus use reign instead of rein.

rein in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of rein in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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