To hold back by force; to restrain; to repress.

To compel; to force; to necessitate; to oblige.

Forcing a part to conform to design intent. Removing degrees of freedom from a curve. Placing specific limits.

To violate; to ravish.

To secure by bonds; to chain; to bond or confine; to hold tightly; to constringe.

To produce in such a manner as to give an unnatural effect; as, a constrained voice.

restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations"

To bring into a narrow compass; to compress.

One of three key concepts in the Microsoft approach to managing project trade offs. In the trade-off matrix, constraining costs and resources requires a not-to-exceed strategy.