- machine regulator - One who, or that which, controls or restraines; one who
has power or authority to regulate or control; one who governs. - An officer appointed to keep a counter register of
accounts, or to examine, rectify, or verify accounts. - An iron block, usually bolted to a ship's deck, for
controlling the running out of a chain cable. The links of the cable
tend to drop into hollows in the block, and thus hold fast until
disengaged.