Synonyms

commit

American

[kuh-mit] / kəˈmɪt /

verb (used with object)

to do; perform; perpetrate.

to commit murder; to commit an error.

Synonyms:

execute, effect
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.
to bind or obligate, as by pledge or assurance; pledge.

to commit oneself to a promise; to be committed to a course of action.
to consign for preservation.

to commit ideas to writing; to commit a poem to memory.
to give in trust or charge, especially for safekeeping; consign; commend: Every summer we were committed to babysitters and camp counselors.

to commit one's soul to God;
Every summer we were committed to babysitters and camp counselors.
to consign to custody.

to commit a delinquent to a juvenile detention center.
to place in a mental institution or hospital by or as if by legal authority.

He was committed by court order on the recommendation of two psychiatrists.
to deliver for treatment, disposal, etc.; relegate.

to commit a manuscript to the flames.
to send into a battle.

The commander has committed all his troops to the front lines.
Parliamentary Procedure. to refer (a bill or the like) to a committee for consideration.

verb (used without object)

to bind or obligate oneself, as by pledge or assurance; devote or engage oneself to a person or thing: If he hasn’t committed after eight years, he’s never going to marry you.

She is an athlete who commits to the highest standards.
If he hasn’t committed after eight years, he’s never going to marry you.

idioms

com·mit su·i·cide, to intentionally end one’s own life.

commit British

/ kəˈmɪt /

verb

to hand over, as for safekeeping; charge; entrust

to commit a child to the care of its aunt
to learn by heart; memorize
to confine officially or take into custody

to commit someone to prison
(usually passive) to pledge or align (oneself), as to a particular cause, action, or attitude

a committed radical
to order (forces) into action
to perform (a crime, error, etc); do; perpetrate
to surrender, esp for destruction

she committed the letter to the fire
to refer (a bill, etc) to a committee of a legislature

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of commit

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English committen, from Anglo-French committer or directly from Latin committere, equivalent to com- “with, together, completely” + mittere “to send, give over”; see origin at com-

Explanation

To commit is to fully dedicate yourself to something. To commit yourself to being the coolest kid on the beach means spending hours at the mall trying on trunks and flip-flops. Commit can also mean "perform an act" — often the kind that can get you in trouble. Just ask anyone who's committed theft, or arson, or vandalism. If you are committing another person, that means you are sending that person to an institution. Someone may be committed to prison, or to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

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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:

commit commits committed committing

Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, and Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, have been charged in federal court in Portland, Ore., with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

“He’s not going to specify or commit to anything, and he’s not going to talk about the data. So the speech is not going to work.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

As Iraola alluded to after, perhaps one of his players should have had the know how to commit a foul in that situation but Liverpool were punished again.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

The January agreement, under which Kurdish fighters would be integrated into state structures, stipulates that the SDF commit to expelling all non-Syrian PKK leaders and members from the country.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

Ben, it’s important to strip yourself of your old identity entirely, so you can commit yourself to a new one.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

The move extends mandatory life sentences to anyone who commits the manslaughter of an emergency worker on duty including police, prison officers, firefighters and paramedics.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Otherwise, Berman said, if an out-of-state doctor commits “malpractice or negligence, there’s no recourse for the California patient.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

But read carefully, the MOU commits Iran to charging no tolls “for 60 days only” and empowers it “to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait” in dialogue with Oman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

"Without a rapid shift that commits to climate adaptation and carbon neutrality, these phenomena risk becoming a long‑term structural drag on the economy," said Hazem Krichene, a climate and sustainability economist at Allianz.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

This is what these "trivial errors" as you call them really signify and if you do not heed them, it will not be long before your father commits an error of major proportions.'

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Scottish government previously committed £5m to the recovery effort, allowing some businesses to offset lost business.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

An FAA spokeswoman said the agency "is committed to holding employees accountable, and we will not compromise the safety or efficiency of the National Airspace System."

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

“We are grateful for our relationship with the PGA Tour and appreciate their partnership over the years. We remain committed to earning back trust, and we hope to work together again in the future.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Nevertheless, she committed herself to painting and enrolled in a Kyoto art school in 1948 to study the traditional Nihonga style, but found its strictures provincial and stifling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

He seemed so sincere, so committed to us, that I almost put aside my reservations and allowed myself to be sucked into his whirlwind of affection.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

He said SpaceX was committing to spend $100 billion in capital investment for the project, and the company said it expects to create at least 3,000 permanent jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

"Offenders should not assume that they can evade detection simply by leaving Singapore after committing an offence," the Singapore Police Force said in a statement on Monday.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Given that she has just lost her job and her income has dropped substantially, tell her to check both BadgerCare Plus and ACA Marketplace plans before committing to COBRA.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

Early in 2025, I’d been thinking about the 20th anniversary of the show and how to celebrate it, but a movie is a huge project, one I was wary of committing to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Because he wasn’t committing a crime that afternoon.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023