commit

[ kuh-mit ]
See synonyms for: commitcommittedcommitting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),com·mit·ted, com·mit·ting.
  1. to do; perform; perpetrate: to commit murder; to commit an error.

  2. 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.

  1. to bind or obligate, as by pledge or assurance; pledge: to commit oneself to a promise; to be committed to a course of action.

  2. to consign for preservation: to commit ideas to writing; to commit a poem to memory.

  3. to give in trust or charge, especially for safekeeping; consign; commend: to commit one's soul to God;Every summer we were committed to babysitters and camp counselors.

  4. to consign to custody: to commit a delinquent to a juvenile detention center.

  5. 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.

  6. to deliver for treatment, disposal, etc.; relegate: to commit a manuscript to the flames.

  7. to send into a battle: The commander has committed all his troops to the front lines.

  8. 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 bind or obligate oneself, as by pledge or assurance; devote or engage oneself to a person or thing: 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 about commit

  1. com·mit su·i·cide, to intentionally end one’s own life.: See Usage note at suicide.

Origin of commit

1
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-

Other words for commit

Other words from commit

  • com·mit·ta·ble, adjective
  • com·mit·ter, noun
  • non·com·mit·ted, adjective
  • pre·com·mit, verb (used with object), pre·com·mit·ted, pre·com·mit·ting.
  • un·com·mit, verb, un·com·mit·ted, un·com·mit·ting.

Words Nearby commit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use commit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for commit

commit

/ (kəˈmɪt) /


verb-mits, -mitting or -mitted (tr)
  1. to hand over, as for safekeeping; charge; entrust: to commit a child to the care of its aunt

  2. commit to memory to learn by heart; memorize

  1. to confine officially or take into custody: to commit someone to prison

  2. (usually passive) to pledge or align (oneself), as to a particular cause, action, or attitude: a committed radical

  3. to order (forces) into action

  4. to perform (a crime, error, etc); do; perpetrate

  5. to surrender, esp for destruction: she committed the letter to the fire

  6. to refer (a bill, etc) to a committee of a legislature

Origin of commit

1
C14: from Latin committere to join, from com- together + mittere to put, send

Derived forms of commit

  • committable, adjective
  • committer, noun

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