self-regulating

adj — 2 senses

self-regulating

adj

Etymology From self- + regulating.

1

Able to control itself.

  • The motor was self-regulating, until the governor broke and it suddenly raced out of control.
2

Of an organization, establishing standards for itself rather than having them legislated for it by government.

  • Lawyers are self-regulating through the bar association, which sets standards and imposes penalties.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.