constraint

5 definitions • 12 examples

something that controls what you do by keeping you within particular limits:

constraint of The constraints of politeness wouldn't allow her to say what she really thought about his cooking.

constraint on Financial constraints on the company are preventing them from employing new staff.

financial constraint The idea has been dropped due to financial constraints.

unnatural behaviour that is sometimes the result of forcing yourself to act in a particular way:

She tried to appear friendly, but her constraint was obvious.

If you do something under constraint, you do it only because you have been forced to:

They confessed, but only under severe constraint.

something that limits the range of a person’s actions or freedom:

In Egypt, the biggest constraint on new agricultural production is water.

something that controls what you can do by keeping you within particular limits:

The constraint of distribution costs remains the severest of all.

budget/financial, etc. constraints This growth in revenue may soften the government's budget constraints and allow it to increase public spending.

big/major/serious constraint They believe that the new legislation will remove a major constraint to economic expansion.

a constraint on/to sth The cost of capital is an important constraint on business activity.

place/put a constraint on sth Some external factors placed constraints on the scope of the work that could be undertaken.

Among those conditions was a five-year time constraint. (= time limit)