Definition of: bridle

(brīd′l) noun
1. The head harness of a horse, including bit and reins.
2. Anything that restrains, limits, or guides movement, action, or development; a check; also, a curb.
3. The clevis of a plow.
4. Anat. A ligament or frenum attaching two parts or surfaces of an organism to each other.
5. A former instrument of torture, used for scolds.
6. Aeron. In the handling of airships and dirigibles, a sling of cordage or wire with ends fixed at two different points, to the bight of which a single line may be attached, movable or fixed, thus distributing the pull of the single line to two points or more in the case of a multiple bridle.
7. A span of mooring cables.
—v. bri·dled, bri·dling v.t.
1. To put a bridle on.
2. To check or control with or as with a bridle.
—v.i.
3. To raise the head and draw in the chin through resentment, pride, etc. See synonyms under REPRESS, RESTRAIN, SUBDUE. ◆ Homophone: bridal. [OE brīdel]
—bri′dler noun