submit

American  

[suhb-mit] / səbˈmɪt /

verb (used with object)

• submits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• submitted,
  past participle,  past
• submitting
  present participle

1. 

   to give over or yield to the power or authority of another (often used reflexively).

   Synonyms:

   resign, agree, obey, bow, comply

   Antonyms:

   fight

2. to subject to some kind of treatment or influence.

3. to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others.

   to submit a plan;

   to submit an application.

4. to state or urge with deference; suggest or propose (usually followed by a clause).

   I submit that full proof should be required.

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verb (used without object)

• submits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• submitted,
  past participle,  past
• submitting
  present participle

1. to yield oneself to the power or authority of another.

   to submit to a conqueror.

2. to allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment.

   to submit to chemotherapy.

3. to defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc..

   I submit to your superior judgment.

submit British  

/ səbˈmɪt /

verb

1. (often foll by to) to yield (oneself), as to the will of another person, a superior force, etc

2. (foll by to) to subject or be voluntarily subjected (to analysis, treatment, etc)

3. to refer (something to someone) for judgment or consideration

   to submit a claim

4. (tr; may take a clause as object) to state, contend, or propose deferentially

5. to defer or accede (to the decision, opinion, etc, of another)

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Usage

Where does submit come from? As we see in our Behind The Word on transfer, submit is an excellent example of how Latin roots can be found all over English vocabulary. Submit entered English around 1325–75. The word is ultimately derived from the Latin submittere, meaning “to lower, reduce, yield.” This Latin verb is composed of two parts. The first part is sub-, a combining form based on the preposition sub, meaning “under, below.” The second part is mittere, a verb meaning “to send,” often with the sense of “letting (something) go.” Fun fact: another sense of submittere in Latin was “to let grow,” as one does with their hair. Some of the most common senses of submit in English are “to turn in,” as one submits a homework assignment or document, and “to give in,” as one submits to the will of another. Back to the Latin roots. Latin combined mittere with a variety of its own prefixes to form new verbs, many of which made their way into English in the 1300s.

• admit (from Latin admittere, literally “to send to”; see ad-)
• commit (from Latin committere, literally “to send with”; see com-)
• demit (from Latin dēmittere, literally “to send down”; see de-)
• emit (from Latin ēmittere, literally “to send out”; see e-)
• intermit (from Latin intermittere, literally “to send between”; see inter-)
• intromit (from Latin intrōmittere, literally “to send in”; see intro-)
• omit (from Latin omittere, with a literal meaning of, roughly, “to send in the way of”; see o-)
• permit (from Latin permittere, literally “to send through”; see per-)
• pretermit (from Latin praetermittere, literally “to send past”; see preter-)
• remit (from Latin remittere, literally “to send back”; see re-)
• transmit (from Latin trānsmittere, literally “to send across”; see trans-)

Now, for sub-. Too many words to list here feature the prefix sub-, either as borrowed from Latin or formed in English. Below are just a few examples. Can you think of more?

• subatomic
• subliminal
• submarine
• submerge
• subside
• subterranean
• substitute

Dig deeperMany other English words contain sub-, but you might not know it at first glance. That’s due to a process called assimilation, which is when a sound becomes the same as or similar to a neighboring sound. Before sp, sub- becomes su-, as in suspect. Before c, sub- becomes suc-, as in succeed. Sub- becomes suf- before f (suffer), sug- before g (suggest), and sum- before m (summon). And just to be absolutely thorough, sub- becomes sup- before p, as in suppose, and sur- before r, as in surrogate.

Synonym Usage

See yield.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• submittal
  noun
• submitter
  noun
• resubmit
  verb
• presubmit
  verb (used with object)
• nonsubmissible
  adjective
• submissible
  adjective
• submittable
  adjective
• unsubmitting
  adjective
• submittingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• submitting
  present
• submitted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• submit
  simple
• submits
  simple
• have submitted
  perfect
• has submitted
  perfect
• am submitting
  progressive
• are submitting
  progressive
• is submitting
  progressive
• have been submitting
  perfect progressive
• has been submitting
  perfect progressive

Past

• submitted
  simple
• had submitted
  perfect
• was submitting
  progressive
• were submitting
  progressive
• had been submitting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will submit
  simple
• will have submitted
  perfect
• will be submitting
  progressive
• will have been submitting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of submit

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English submitten, from Latin submittere “to lower, reduce, yield,” equivalent to sub- “under, below, beneath” + mittere “to send”; see sub-

Explanation

To submit to something means to undergo or accept it. You must submit to a search if the police have a warrant. Many of the senses of submit are variations on that first meaning of acceptance. When you submit an application, you formally hand it in to be judged. Similarly, if you put something before an organized group, you submit it. Often websites will have an e-mail address where you can submit questions, comments and suggestions. If you want to paint your room black and your parents submit, they give in to your wish.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

submit submits submitted submitting

Park advocates originally planned to ask L.A. voters to approve a sales tax hike, going so far as to submit the initial paperwork to the city clerk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Man City deny any wrongdoing and have until Friday to submit an appeal.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Anyone who wants to present can submit their hot take through an application form.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

City have been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period, though they continue to deny any wrongdoing and have until 2 October to submit an appeal.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

He paused and then said he wanted the parties to submit written briefs arguing what ruling he should make.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

When a student submits a paper written by a chatbot instead of their own work, should this be considered plagiarism?

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

"I personally like when someone submits their booking request along with a nice introduction letter, telling me about themselves and the reason why they would be visiting London."

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Then, the drug company developing the medicine reviews the data and submits them to the FDA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

Taxpayers should always be able to see their return before the preparer submits it to the IRS, O’Saben said.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

She submits to my mother like a solemn novitiate.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

Environmental impacts would be judged under the laws and standards in place when an application is submitted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

More than 1000 citizen science observations have been submitted through iNaturalist and the Atlas of Living Australia, and the insects have also been studied scientifically for decades.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

By the time a student submitted a paper, understanding had emerged from the work required to create it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

BBC Weather Watchers have been submitting the photos they took and here are a few of our favourites of those submitted so far.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

Hoping the match would be another Reykjavik—in explosive media attention if not financial outcome—cities around the world submitted bids to host the competition.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

"I served you faithfully. I served all of you, and our homeland Serbia, honourably and honestly throughout my presidential term," Vucic told supporters gathered outside the presidential palace shortly before submitting his resignation.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

People who bought certain iPhone models can start submitting claims to get paid as part of a $250-million settlement resolving legal claims that Apple misled consumers about the capabilities of its artificial-intelligence-powered features.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

He said that they had told the council they would be submitting a planning application this week and that they were also seeking legal advice.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

That requires submitting a transfer request with a medallion signature guarantee.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

“I was also thinking,” the social worker added, “that in addition to submitting the recordings of residents’ stories, we might ask a few of them to write letters on your behalf.”

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

• propose
• put
• refer
• suggest
• table
• urge