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What is "rein"

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rein
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
rein
I.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
keep a tight grip/hold/rein on sth (=control it very firmly)
▪ The former dictator still keeps a tight grip on power.
▪ Anna was determined to keep a tight hold on her feelings.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
free
▪ So, goes the conspiracy, the Foreign Office can now give free rein to its instinctive Arabism.
▪ Then I pretty much give them free rein.
▪ As he drove he was able to allow his thoughts a free rein.
▪ No, it was thanks to my culinary abilities that Marie-Claude gave me free rein of both her kitchen and her bedchamber.
▪ I would discuss the script, say, on proportional representation, and then give him free rein.
▪ But at that minute, having allowed them free rein, guilt and self-condemnation were riding her hard.
▪ His moral reading of events was given free rein.
▪ The special conditions at Westminster are one part of the explanation of the relatively free rein given to counter-insurgency and covert activity.
full
▪ Despite giving full rein to Laura's inner struggles and torments, Fuentes is far more interested in the grand scale.
▪ He gave her full rein of the hallway.
▪ Closing his eyes wasn't much better, because it gave his imagination full rein.
▪ In this book I ask you to abandon your conservatism and allow your curiosity full rein.
tight
▪ Non-executive directors would keep executives on a tight rein.
▪ Apart from anything else, it would be necessary to keep Hilary Todd on a tight rein.
▪ I tend to keep a tight rein at first, and gradually relax as I get to know them.
▪ Her only chance of survival, she felt, was to keep a tight rein over her feelings and words.
■ VERB
hold
▪ Unlike his predecessors, Norvm had managerial experience, having formerly held the reins at Railway Sidings Malmo.
▪ More than half its membership came from the very corporate law firms that have perennially held the reins of the bar.
▪ He wouldn't have done that, would he, if he wasn't holding the reins ...?
▪ Businessmen talk on their cellular phones while holding on to the reins of their strong-legged animals at stoplights.
▪ Nutty showed him how to hold the reins.
▪ Kremlin holds the reins, page 7 Non-Communist becomes acting head of state Krenz falls as unrest fears grow.
▪ Riven held his reins in one hand and jabbed at the snarling grypesh with the other as they darted into his reach.
pull
▪ There was a loud clang and Broomhead cursed vehemently, pulling on the reins.
▪ Twenty minutes later Luke pulled back on the reins as they reached the crossroads.
▪ She was attempting to pull her reins out of Alexei's hands.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
give sb a free hand/rein
▪ They've given me a free hand with the budget, as long as I stay under $10,000.
▪ Both these factors gave him a freer hand to negotiate.
▪ He's given me a free hand to buy horses.
▪ I would discuss the script, say, on proportional representation, and then give him free rein.
▪ It turns them on and gives them a free hand to be as obnoxious as they want.
▪ No advanced industrial nation gives corporations a freer hand in busting unions.
▪ No, it was thanks to my culinary abilities that Marie-Claude gave me free rein of both her kitchen and her bedchamber.
▪ Then I pretty much give them free rein.
▪ While watching him at work she impulsively asked to borrow his materials and followed his advice to give her imagination free rein.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ And the mare, as if finally understanding, begins to strain, tosses her head wildly, pulls at the reins.
▪ Despite bad moods and worse manners, the car could always be tamed by appreciation, patience and just enough rein.
▪ He dragged on the reins and drew the buggy around, flaying the horse with his whip.
▪ He gave me the backbone to take the reins and be assertive and a little more aggressive.
▪ Meanwhile, Seb tied the reins of his horse to the back of the cart before sprinting towards the manor house.
▪ SunSelect general manager, Carl Ledbetter, takes the reins of the combined unit.
▪ The ponies were growing restless, and she shook the reins and sent them on down the gentle slope towards the house.
II.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
in
▪ She was considered a wild girl who only needed reining in, and Hank was the man to do it.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ After reining in the regional barons and tackling the business oligarchs, Mr Putin read the riot act to the generals.
▪ Bandelier did prompt his parents to take steps to rein Kip in.
▪ But Puerto Rico is relying on Big Government to rein in crime and address festering social problems in the developments.
▪ Further spotlighting that metamorphosis, Bush's budget used tones of moderation to describe its effort to rein in spending.
▪ She was considered a wild girl who only needed reining in, and Hank was the man to do it.
▪ The ruling is an important victory for groups trying to rein in such verdicts.
▪ The strategy of bartering, mentioned earlier is one way to rein in the cost of a date.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Rein

Rein \Rein\ (r?n), n. [F. r[^e]ne, fr. (assumed) LL. retina, fr. L. retinere to hold back. See Retain.]

  1. The strap of a bridle, fastened to the curb or snaffle on each side, by which the rider or driver governs the horse.

    This knight laid hold upon his reyne.
    --Chaucer.

  2. Hence, an instrument or means of curbing, restraining, or governing; government; restraint. ``Let their eyes rove without rein.''
    --Milton.

    To give rein, To give the rein to, to give license to; to leave withouut restrain.

    To take the reins, to take the guidance or government; to assume control.

Rein

Rein \Rein\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reined (r?nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Reining.]

  1. To govern or direct with the reins; as, to rein a horse one way or another.

    He mounts and reins his horse.
    --Chapman.

  2. To restrain; to control; to check.

    Being once chafed, he can not Be reined again to temperance.
    --Shak.

    To rein in or To rein up, (a) to check the speed of, or cause to stop, by drawing the reins. Hence, (a) to cause (a person) to slow down or cease some activity; -- to rein in is used commonly of superiors in a chain of command, ordering a subordinate to moderate or cease some activity deemed excessive.

Rein

Rein \Rein\, v. i. To be guided by reins. [R.]
--Shak.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
rein

c.1300, "strap fastened to a bridle," from Old French rene, resne "reins, bridle strap, laces" (Modern French rêne), probably from Vulgar Latin *retina "a bond, check," back-formation from Latin retinere "hold back" (see retain). To give something free rein is originally of horses.

rein

c.1300, from rein (n.). Figurative extension "put a check on" first recorded 1580s. Related: Reined; reining. To rein up "halt" (1550s) is from the way to make a horse stop by pulling up on the reins.

Wiktionary
rein

Etymology 1 n. 1 A strap or rope attached to the bridle or bit, used to control a horse, animal or young child. 2 (context figurative English) An instrument or means of curbing, restraining, or governing. vb. 1 To direct or stop a horse by using reins. 2 To restrain; to control; to check. Etymology 2

n. 1 (context now rare archaic chiefly in plural English) A kidney. 2 The inward impulses; the affections and passions, formerly supposed to be located in the area of the kidneys.

Related phrases:
WordNet
rein

  1. n. one of a pair of long straps (usually connected to the bit or the headpiece) used to control a horse

  2. any means of control; "he took up the reins of government"

rein

  1. v. control and direct with or as if by reins; "rein a horse" [syn: harness, rein in, draw rein]

  2. stop or slow up one's horse or oneself by or as if by pulling the reins; "They reined in in front of the post office" [syn: rein in]

  3. stop or check by or as if by a pull at the reins; "He reined in his horses in front of the post office" [syn: rein in]

  4. keep in check; "rule one's temper" [syn: rule, harness]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Rein (disambiguation)

Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding or driving.

Rein may also refer to:

  • Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise (REIN), a type of electrical interference
  • Rein Abbey, Austria
  • Rein Abbey, Norway
  • Rein orchid or Piperia, a genus of the orchid family Orchidaceae
  • Reins, an archaic term for the kidneys
Rein

Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding or driving. Reins can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.

Usage examples of "rein".

Reining in, Seregil studied the wall of branches for a moment, then dismounted and motioned for Alec to follow.

Wrapping the reins more securely around his fist, Alec coaxed the nervous mare along with soothing words as her hooves struck loose stones.

Unable to free his hand from the reins, Alec was jerked off balance and swung out over the cliff edge.

Nysander asked, reining in while Seregil and Alec pulled up their hoods.

Then I knew them for the foemen and their deeds to be I knew, And I gathered the reins together to ride down the hill amain, To die with a good stroke stricken and slay ere I was slain.

The Badgeless Maces hauled back on their reins, barely managing to bring their mounts to a stop before the dragoneers.

The soldiers, riding up with shouts and derision, had to gather in reins to hold other bawling beasts.

Then my lord turned to me while the king took no heed, and no man in the ring of knights moved from his place, and he set me in the saddle, and turned about to mount, and there came a lord from the ring of men gloriously bedight, and he bowed lowly before my lord, and held his stirrup for him: but lightly he leapt up into the saddle, and took my reins and led me along with him, so that he and the king and I went on together, and all the baronage and their folk shouted and tossed sword and spear aloft and followed after us.

The General reined in, doffed his bicorne hat, then cast a cold glance at Spears and Sharpe.

The Corporal had managed to pull up Billy, but the two ponies had shot past him, both the children crying out with delight, and while galloping on to catch them Billy had come down in a boggy place, and the corporal supposed that he himself must have been a bit stunned, for when he got up he found that he had let go of his rein and that Billy and everybody else had disappeared.

I could see better then, and if I did by mischance step into a boggy patch I could hold the reins and let Sultana pull me out.

Shanna would have reined the animal away to give the man wide berth, but as she passed by the bondsman, a tan arm shot out and firmly grasped the bridle of her steed.

I crawled under the seat with the blanket wrapped around me, Mary clucked her tongue and gave the reins a shake, and the buckboard was on the move again.

Only if he could arrange for Bute to serve under him, could he put his reins on that ambitious man.

Cugel tried to rein the beast up and around in a caracole, but it merely squatted low to the ground, then padded out upon the road.