Definition of "bridle" []

• A harness, consisting of a headstall, bit, and reins, fitted about a horse's head and used to restrain or guide the animal. (noun)
• A curb or check: put a bridle on spending. (noun)
• Nautical A span of chain, wire, or rope that can be secured at both ends to an object and slung from its center point. (noun)
• To put a bridle on. (verb-transitive)
• To control or restrain with or as if with a bridle. See Synonyms at restrain. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Jenny twitched the bridle from the perspiring groom and minced up to the prisoner."
• "I ceased treating her too kindly - snubbing, and riding with a curb-bridle, is what she needs."
• "Yet I dare say the chorus of a musical comedy would not be awestruck -- would, indeed, 'bridle' -- if one unrolled to them their illustrious pedigree."