admit
Americanverb (used with object)
-
admits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
admitted,
past participle, past
-
admitting
present participle
-
to allow to enter; grant or afford entrance to.
to admit a student to college.
- Synonyms:
- receive
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to give right or means of entrance to.
This ticket admits two people.
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to register (a person) as an inpatient at a hospital.
After seeing the test results, the emergency room doctor admitted her and put her on intravenous fluids.
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to permit to exercise a certain function or privilege.
admitted to the bar.
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to permit; allow.
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to allow or concede as valid.
to admit the force of an argument.
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to acknowledge; confess.
He admitted his guilt.
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to grant in argument; concede.
The fact is admitted.
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to have capacity for.
This passage admits two abreast.
verb (used without object)
-
admits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
admitted,
past participle, past
-
admitting
present participle
-
to permit entrance; give access.
This door admits to the garden.
-
to permit the possibility of something; allow (usually followed byof ).
The contract admits of no other interpretation.
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to confess or acknowledge (a crime, mistake, etc)
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(may take a clause as object) to concede (the truth or validity of something)
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to allow to enter; let in
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(foll by to) to allow participation (in) or the right to be part (of)
to admit to the profession
-
to allow (of); leave room (for)
-
(intr) to give access
the door admits onto the lawn
Synonym Usage
See acknowledge.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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admitternoun
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readmitverb
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preadmitverb (used with object)
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admittableadjective
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admittibleadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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admitsimple
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admitssimple
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have admittedperfect
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has admittedperfect
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am admittingprogressive
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are admittingprogressive
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is admittingprogressive
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have been admittingperfect progressive
-
has been admittingperfect progressive
Past
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admittedsimple
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had admittedperfect
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was admittingprogressive
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were admittingprogressive
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had been admittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of admit
First recorded in 1375–1425; from Latin admittere, from ad- ad- + mittere “to send, let go”; replacing late Middle English amitte, with a- a- 5 instead of ad-, from Middle French amettre, from Latin, as above
Explanation
When you admit something, you confess that it happened. It wasn't easy to admit that you'd broken the vase, but how else could you explain that your hand was glued to it? Besides meaning "confess," admit can also mean "let in," like a theater ticket that says "ADMIT ONE." If you admit that you have a bag of popcorn hidden in your backpack, you might not be admitted to the movie. A doorway admits you into a room, and if a room can hold up to 50 people, that room admits 50. You can even use admit for metaphorical entrances, like the way your wild style admits you into high fashion circles.
Vocabulary lists containing admit
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Although he has consistently denied the charges, he did admit in an interview with Air Mail in 2023 to having “used people.”
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
The same is true at USC, even if no Trojan players are willing to admit it at the moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Releasing Mr. Lai wouldn’t require China to admit that his imprisonment was wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
While they admit they are not certain that Monsanto was responsible, the documentary has made them question the possible impact of the factory on their family's health.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
“I didn’t remember on my own,” I admit.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Another option, something Briffault admits is petty but has been done before, is to slash the salaries of people at the agency responsible for the unlawful behavior, or even folks who worked on it.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
Mr. Blair admits “domestic economic pressure” will be central to the campaign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Given Mr. Moritz’s success and prominence in this country, “it’s odd to feel like an outsider when everyone considers you an insider,” he admits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
"I've been rationing it and using less than what's suggested," she admits.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
“I alerted Nansi as soon as you all broke into my farm,” Benefo admits.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
But the court also noted that Song had admitted to the charges and shown remorse.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Earlier this month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood admitted the scheme had "not been without its challenges".
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
In exchange, as of the end of June, London had legally admitted 1,117 other migrants who had applied in France, according to UK data.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The same week, a Philadelphia teacher locally known as a Palestinian activist admitted she actually isn’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
“I don't know if I want it back,” she admitted.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
While admitting nothing, Kaya, who was Turkey's family minister from 2016 to 2018, said she was taking "political responsibility" to ensure that any investigation could be conducted "independently, impartially".
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Discarding things like my Dremel tool can require admitting that a hoped-for future may never arrive.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
In Colorado, Xcel disputes its equipment was involved in the ignition of the deadly 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County but settled litigation for $640 million, without admitting fault.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Mourinho also addressed the dismissal of Dean Huijsen, which awarded Atletico a penalty, admitting he had not yet watched the VAR replay.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
I used that name just to please her, practically admitting it was her mongoose.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
