Synonyms

submit

American

[suhb-mit] / səbˈmɪt /

verb (used with object)

to give over or yield to the power or authority of another (often used reflexively).

Synonyms:

resign, agree, obey, bow, comply

Antonyms:

fight
to subject to some kind of treatment or influence.
to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others.

to submit a plan;
to submit an application.
to state or urge with deference; suggest or propose (usually followed by a clause).

I submit that full proof should be required.

verb (used without object)

to yield oneself to the power or authority of another.

to submit to a conqueror.
to allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment.

to submit to chemotherapy.
to defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc..

I submit to your superior judgment.

submit British

/ səbˈmɪt /

verb

(often foll by to) to yield (oneself), as to the will of another person, a superior force, etc
(foll by to) to subject or be voluntarily subjected (to analysis, treatment, etc)
to refer (something to someone) for judgment or consideration

to submit a claim
(tr; may take a clause as object) to state, contend, or propose deferentially
to defer or accede (to the decision, opinion, etc, of another)

"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

Usage

Where does submit come from? As we see in our Behind The Word on transfer, submit is an excellent example of how Latin roots can be found all over English vocabulary. Submit entered English around 1325–75. The word is ultimately derived from the Latin submittere, meaning “to lower, reduce, yield.” This Latin verb is composed of two parts. The first part is sub-, a combining form based on the preposition sub, meaning “under, below.” The second part is mittere, a verb meaning “to send,” often with the sense of “letting (something) go.” Fun fact: another sense of submittere in Latin was “to let grow,” as one does with their hair. Some of the most common senses of submit in English are “to turn in,” as one submits a homework assignment or document, and “to give in,” as one submits to the will of another. Back to the Latin roots. Latin combined mittere with a variety of its own prefixes to form new verbs, many of which made their way into English in the 1300s.

admit (from Latin admittere, literally “to send to”; see ad-)
commit (from Latin committere, literally “to send with”; see com-)
demit (from Latin dēmittere, literally “to send down”; see de-)
emit (from Latin ēmittere, literally “to send out”; see e-)
intermit (from Latin intermittere, literally “to send between”; see inter-)
intromit (from Latin intrōmittere, literally “to send in”; see intro-)
omit (from Latin omittere, with a literal meaning of, roughly, “to send in the way of”; see o-)
permit (from Latin permittere, literally “to send through”; see per-)
pretermit (from Latin praetermittere, literally “to send past”; see preter-)
remit (from Latin remittere, literally “to send back”; see re-)
transmit (from Latin trānsmittere, literally “to send across”; see trans-)

Now, for sub-. Too many words to list here feature the prefix sub-, either as borrowed from Latin or formed in English. Below are just a few examples. Can you think of more?

Dig deeperMany other English words contain sub-, but you might not know it at first glance. That’s due to a process called assimilation, which is when a sound becomes the same as or similar to a neighboring sound. Before sp, sub- becomes su-, as in suspect. Before c, sub- becomes suc-, as in succeed. Sub- becomes suf- before f (suffer), sug- before g (suggest), and sum- before m (summon). And just to be absolutely thorough, sub- becomes sup- before p, as in suppose, and sur- before r, as in surrogate.

Synonym Usage

See yield.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of submit

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English submitten, from Latin submittere “to lower, reduce, yield,” equivalent to sub- “under, below, beneath” + mittere “to send”; see sub-

Explanation

To submit to something means to undergo or accept it. You must submit to a search if the police have a warrant. Many of the senses of submit are variations on that first meaning of acceptance. When you submit an application, you formally hand it in to be judged. Similarly, if you put something before an organized group, you submit it. Often websites will have an e-mail address where you can submit questions, comments and suggestions. If you want to paint your room black and your parents submit, they give in to your wish.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing submit

Latin Root "sub" Words

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Send a Message: Mit and Miss

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Iroquois Constitution

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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:

submit submits submitted submitting

At issue was whether the Los Angles Homeless Services Authority could submit an application on behalf of dozens of organizations seeking $239 million in federal funds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Martínez-Olguín asked the parties to submit their responses to Booker’s letter by Sept. 28 at noon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

A Yeomans spokesperson said that with the details of the scheme "still evolving", the support on offer from the government would depend on data it had yet to submit.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

The new levers, which the company plans to release this month, focus on verification, a system through which users can submit government identification and their professional email addresses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

For writing ‘ew’ about kissing him, and planning to submit an essay about him in the first place?”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

When a student submits a paper written by a chatbot instead of their own work, should this be considered plagiarism?

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

Before anyone sits an exam, their school, college or training centre submits estimated grades for every candidate to Qualifications Scotland.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

The Spectator magazine, a bible of sorts for the well-heeled, secured some of the last remaining pots of the stuff to distribute to readers as a prize for whoever submits the letter of the week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

The restaurant submits the final total — the bill and the tip — as part of a batch to its payment processor.

From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026

“Yes, she can,” he said, “if she submits a written request.”

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

It submitted her information for quotes but said her current rate was as low as it could get.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

BBC Weather Watchers have been submitting the photos they took and here are a few of our favourites of those submitted so far.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

"I have submitted my request to our party chairman to be excused from all positions and responsibilities I currently hold," she wrote.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

She submitted complaints about the issue, according to the suit, to the Better Business Bureau, her congressperson and the FSA’s ombudsman’s office, which is tasked with handling borrower complaints.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

Sometimes, in the course of the modulation of relations between animals, there are inventions that seem to have been thought up on the spur of the moment, like propositions to be submitted for possible evolution.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

The force said police still have a number of inquiries to complete before submitting a file for the coroner.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

That requires submitting a transfer request with a medallion signature guarantee.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

The company said in a statement that it expects people to be able to start submitting claims this fall, with payments for eligible claims to follow “swiftly thereafter.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

The government was submitting a petition for a review that would call for 73-year-old Khan's medical tests to be conducted at a government hospital, instead of a private facility as the court had ordered.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

“See? Look. I told him I wasn’t submitting it. He said, ‘Ok dot dot dot.’

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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