admit
Americanverb (used with object)
-
admits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
admitted,
past participle, past
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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
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to allow (of); leave room (for)
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(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
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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:
The company didn’t formally admit to the charges in these cases, but one would have to be hopelessly naive to think that means it’s innocent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
He was forced during the campaign to admit he had asked jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro, at the heart of one of Brazil's largest financial fraud cases, to bankroll the film.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Comedian Joanne McNally agreed some players were "using him as a fall guy and a decoy," although she did admit later that he's "made such a shambles of it now".
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Some council members facing election admit to nervousness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
But even he would have to admit, I concluded as I stepped back at last to admire the completed hideaway, that a watchmaker’s hand and eye were worth something.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Muñoz admits he exaggerated his skill set to get his foot in the door, but he was determined to make the opportunity count.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
“I don’t know how we could’ve watched that, and all thought it was funny,” Madison admits.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
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
“She mentioned it might be a nice thing to aim for,” he admits.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Evans admitted that blow only fueled his determination to make it in the WRC and a first rally victory followed - in his home event in Wales - in 2017.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Japanese Olympic Committee president Seiko Hashimoto admitted that "there were many problems", but said the country wants to host more international events in future.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
He spoke to many in and around the club, and admitted the warmth of those conversations made his eventual decision harder.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
“I don’t like that as well,” Hilton admitted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
“I might have...enhanced myself a little,” she admitted.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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
The trailer concludes with Holmes admitting it was hard for her to let anyone see her cry, as a single tear falls from her eye.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 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
Justin’s grandmother is sick, but instead of admitting he’s upset about it, he just lashes out at the world more.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
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.
