to limit or control something that has developed too much or has continued for too long
to make a horse stop or go more slowly by pulling its reins
France has asked its EU partners to rein in their criticism of nuclear testing.
Have you any idea what my kitchen would look like after he'd had a free rein in there for twenty-four hours?
He liked to play with his dogs, and I once saw him rein in to berate a drover who who whipping his cart horse.
He tried to rein in speculation, tempering his panic with what he hoped was common sense.
reins in
reining in
reined in
There is no origin for this phrasal verb
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