lexicow

restrict

/rɪˈstrɪkt//rɪˈstrɪkt/·verb
I watch a little goat spot a tuft of green just ahead and lean for it — and the rope at its collar pulls tight and stops it dead, its nose a whisker short of the leaves. It strains, the line trembling, then gives up and ambles back, only to try the very same reach again. There's a circle drawn around the stake that it simply cannot step past. I keep willing it those last few inches, but the tether only ever gives what it gives.
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Definition

To restrict is to hold something inside limits — to cut down how much is allowed through, who may enter, or how far a thing can go. A diet restricts certain foods; a law restricts access; a narrow valve restricts a flow to a trickle. The point is throttling rather than stopping: what is restricted still exists, but only a permitted portion gets past. From the Latin restringere, 'to bind back', it shares its root with 'restrain' and 'strict'.

Examples

  • The government restricted public gatherings in an effort to suppress the outbreak.
  • Tight rules that restrict spending can inhibit a young company's growth.
  • Membership is restricted to residents of the town.

Collocations

restrict access·severely restrict·restrict movement·restricted to·restrict the flow

Synonyms

limit·confine·curb·constrain·restrain

Antonyms

broaden·permit·free

Word family

restriction (noun)·restricted (adjective)·restrictive (adjective)

In TOEFL & IELTS

A core academic verb for policy and science writing — 'restrict access to', 'severely restrict', 'restricted to' are exam-ready. Promote the noun restriction and the adjective restrictive in formal essays. Note that it is weaker than ban or prohibit: to restrict is to limit, not to forbid outright, which matters when you are weighing arguments.