Definition of "constraint" []

• The threat or use of force to prevent, restrict, or dictate the action or thought of others. (noun)
• The state of being restricted or confined within prescribed bounds: soon tired of the constraint of military life. (noun)
• One that restricts, limits, or regulates; a check: ignored all moral constraints in his pursuit of success. (noun)
• Embarrassed reserve or reticence; awkwardness: "All constraint had vanished between the two, and they began to talk” ( Edith Wharton). (noun)

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.

• "But all of them can easily fire a round every second or two; and the main constraint is the time it takes to aim again, which means that practically speaking semiautomatics and revolvers have a comparable effective rate offire."
• "With the shift to the constitutional stage of politics, however, this constraint is at least partially removed."
• ""Not having enough money [for the project] was the problem, the constraint from the beginning," explained Alejandro Aravena, Elemental's chief architect."