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commit

[kuh-mit]
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verb (used with object), com·mit·ted, com·mit·ting.
  1. to give in trust or charge; consign.
  2. to consign for preservation: to commit ideas to writing; to commit a poem to memory.
  3. to pledge (oneself) to a position on an issue or question; express (one's intention, feeling, etc.): Asked if he was a candidate, he refused to commit himself.
  4. to bind or obligate, as by pledge or assurance; pledge: to commit oneself to a promise; to be committed to a course of action.
  5. to entrust, especially for safekeeping; commend: to commit one's soul to God.
  6. to do; perform; perpetrate: to commit murder; to commit an error.
  7. to consign to custody: to commit a delinquent to a reformatory.
  8. to place in a mental institution or hospital by or as if by legal authority: He was committed on the certificate of two psychiatrists.
  9. to deliver for treatment, disposal, etc.; relegate: to commit a manuscript to the flames.
  10. to send into a battle: The commander has committed all his troops to the front lines.
  11. Parliamentary Procedure. to refer (a bill or the like) to a committee for consideration.
verb (used without object), com·mit·ted, com·mit·ting.
  1. to pledge or engage oneself: an athlete who commits to the highest standards.

Origin of commit

1350–1400; Middle English committen (< Anglo-French committer) < Latin committere, equivalent to com- com- + mittere to send, give over
Related formscom·mit·ta·ble, adjectivecom·mit·ter, nounnon·com·mit·ted, adjectivepre·com·mit, verb (used with object), pre·com·mit·ted, pre·com·mit·ting.self-com·mit·ting, adjectiveun·com·mit, verb, un·com·mit·ted, un·com·mit·ting.un·com·mit·ting, adjectivewell-com·mit·ted, adjective

Synonyms

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6. carry out, effect, execute.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for commit

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I determined to commit suicide on the very day on which I left prison.

    De Profundis

    Oscar Wilde

  • She told me once that it was better to talk about adultery than to commit it!

    The Foolish Lovers

    St. John G. Ervine

  • Commit it then to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.

  • Let that feeling represent what I could tell you, and commit her to your friendliness with my thanks.'

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • A people can commit theft; a people can confess theft; a people can repent of theft.

    Alarms and Discursions

    G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for commit

commit

verb -mits, -mitting or -mitted (tr)
  1. to hand over, as for safekeeping; charge; entrustto commit a child to the care of its aunt
  2. commit to memory to learn by heart; memorize
  3. to confine officially or take into custodyto commit someone to prison
  4. (usually passive) to pledge or align (oneself), as to a particular cause, action, or attitudea committed radical
  5. to order (forces) into action
  6. to perform (a crime, error, etc); do; perpetrate
  7. to surrender, esp for destructionshe committed the letter to the fire
  8. to refer (a bill, etc) to a committee of a legislature
Derived Formscommittable, adjectivecommitter, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Latin committere to join, from com- together + mittere to put, send
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for commit

v.

late 14c., "to give in charge, entrust," from Latin committere "to unite, connect, combine; to bring together," from com- "together" (see com-) + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Evolution into modern range of meanings is not entirely clear. Sense of "perpetrating" was ancient in Latin; in English from mid-15c. The intransitive use (in place of commit oneself) first recorded 1982, probably influenced by existentialism use (1948) of commitment to translate Sartre's engagement "emotional and moral engagement."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
commit in Medicine

commit

(kə-mĭt′)
v.
  1. To place officially in confinement or custody, as in a mental health facility.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.