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

In this list, our writers recommend the best episodes that you can dive into right away—without having to commit to the whole series.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

In addition, the memory-chip makers are trying to persuade customers to commit to multi-year contracts that may smooth out an earnings profile that has, historically, been extremely volatile.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

She warned Deters repeatedly not to commit talk of money or payments to text.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

But keeping pace with the international boom has proven tricky for the archipelago nation's overwhelmingly smallholder farmers, with yields declining and some unable to commit to the plant's nine-month growing time.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

“If you commit to making it work, it can work.”

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

The stock could face pressure if the chip maker commits to higher spending in the U.S.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

“We know that’s ridiculous. But at the same time, if the actor commits to it, it makes it seem real, then the audience gets it.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

A hawkish BoJ that commits to further rate hikes, and perhaps more importantly, at a faster pace, could lead to the Japanese yen strengthening further, which would likely ripple across global markets.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

"Signing the Artemis Accords costs nothing and commits us to nothing beyond principles we already stand for," said Mullan.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 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

Photonics companies’ revenues rely heavily on committed capital spending from hyperscalers, or large cloud companies that provide computing power, Szumski explained.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

In a Wall Street Journal interview earlier this year, Omar said she was never married to her brother and never committed immigration fraud.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

The bullet points included starting with strong, committed ownership; delivering a good product; establishing credibility and trust with fans and media; and hiring good people and letting them do their jobs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

"For the freshwater consumed by non-cooling facility needs, Google is committed to replenishing 120 percent of the volume we consume across our operations by 2030," he added.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

“You would have thought that Bill had committed murder,” his brother Max said.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Stafford was asked this week how he managed to stay calm, not feel rattled and still take shots at clutch plays after committing turnovers in a hostile environment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Yet shareholders still need evidence that the billions Tesla is committing will eventually pay off.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

In 2017, the bank said it was committing $60 billion in loans in an effort to help add at least 250,000 Black homeowners by 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

On Thursday, the two leaders will formally ratify the 2025 Kensington Treaty, a partnership committing both countries to tackle hostile activity through deeper cooperation on science, technology, defence, security and growth.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

All those white hands working in concert, committing their facts and figures down on blue paper.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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