commit

[kuh-mit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR commit ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), com·mit·ted, com·mit·ting.

to give in trust or charge; consign.

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

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 entrust, especially for safekeeping; commend: to commit one's soul to God.

to do; perform; perpetrate: to commit murder; to commit an error.

to consign to custody: to commit a delinquent to a reformatory.

to place in a mental institution or hospital by or as if by legal authority: He was committed on the certificate 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), com·mit·ted, com·mit·ting.

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 for commit

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR commit ON THESAURUS.COM

6. carry out, effect, execute.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for committing

do, execute, violate, perpetrate, act, engage, offer, invest, give, send, charge, promise, allocate, hold, pull, accomplish, complete, effectuate, contravene, wreak

Examples from the Web for committing

Contemporary Examples of committing

A new reality series spotlights the extent people will go to impress a crush—from pretending to be deaf to committing theft.
‘My Crazy Love’ Reveals the Craziest Lies People Tell for Love
Kevin Fallon
November 18, 2014
La Barbie videotaped himself in the act of committing atrocities and mailed the evidence to The Dallas Morning News.
Trading Dime Bags for Salvador Dali
Jason McGahan
October 19, 2014
In this other video, 29-year-old Crawford is not committing an atrocity such as might be expected of ISIS.
ISIS Has a Bigger Coalition Than We Do
Michael Daly
October 15, 2014
Keen on enjoying her youth, Reign has little interest in committing right now.
Swipe Right For Sex: Mixxxer Is Tinder for the Porn Star Set
Aurora Snow
October 4, 2014
During his spring semester at Duke University, senior Lewis McLeod was expelled for committing a sexual assault.
The College Bro’s Burden: Consent and Assault Cast a Shadow on Sexy Times
Amy Zimmerman
August 22, 2014

Historical Examples of committing

Even now, he was engaged in committing that crime which she had forbidden him.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
The inference is that he was imported from abroad for the purpose of committing this outrage.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
A person who escapes the evils of moderation by committing dyspepsia.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
It was that he was a blockhead, and had no idea of the absurdity that he was committing.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 364, February 1846
Various
She spoke with hesitation, as if afraid of committing herself.
The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Tales
Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for committing

commit

verb -mits, -mitting or -mitted (tr)

to hand over, as for safekeeping; charge; entrustto commit a child to the care of its aunt

commit to memory to learn by heart; memorize

to confine officially or take into custodyto commit someone to prison

(usually passive) to pledge or align (oneself), as to a particular cause, action, or attitudea committed radical

to order (forces) into action

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

to surrender, esp for destructionshe committed the letter to the fire

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

Derived Formscommittable, adjectivecommitter, noun

Word Origin for commit

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 committing

commit

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."

committing in Medicine

commit

[kə-mĭt′]

v.

To place officially in confinement or custody, as in a mental health facility.