(reg′yə·lā′tər) noun
1. One who or that which regulates.
2. A clock used as a standard; also, an index arm for regulating the rate of a watch.
3. Mech. A contrivance for governing or equalizing motion or flow; the governor of a steam engine; a damper or other device for regulating a draft; a throttle valve.
4. A register (def. 4).
5. A thermostat.
6. Electr. A device for keeping at constant strength the current produced by a dynamo.
—reg′u·la′tor·ship noun

(reg′yə·lā′tər) noun
1. A member of any of several bands or committees organized in North Carolina (1768–71) to resist official extortion, and in South Carolina (1767–69) to exterminate horse thieves.
2. One belonging to a volunteer band or committee, which, in the absence of lawful authority, took it upon itself to preserve order and punish crime, but which often deteriorated into lawless bands of violent men.