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

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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

DHS just needed to submit a letter officially requesting the data for those purposes, an attorney in the legal counsel’s office explained, according to internal emails.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

“It was like the moment I pushed that button to submit for prior authorization, they didn’t even wait for my physician’s paperwork,” Noonan said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

The House of Commons allows for Canadians to submit petitions, and there are dozens open at any given time, many receiving just a few hundred signatures.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

In June, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that called for major AI developers to submit new models to the government for review 30 days before they are publicly released.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Gorgias’s brother Herodicus is a doctor, and the former attests that when trying to persuade a patient to submit to a course of treatment, his oratory is far more effective than his brother’s medical expertise.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

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

When a private company plans to list on a public market, the S-1 is the initial filing the company submits to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

But under this Bolton standard, anyone who submits a book or article draft that contains classified material could potentially be charged with a crime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

Taxpayers should always be able to see their return before the preparer submits it to the IRS, O’Saben said.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

She submits to my mother like a solemn novitiate.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

A defence barrister submitted the accused is a "reasonable candidate for bail as there is nothing on record for violence or domestic abuse".

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The cases were submitted by coroners, forensic pathologists, and police forces between March 2019 and August 2024.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

At the time of the indictments, Sheinbaum said Mexico wouldn’t extradite the men, as requested by the U.S., because no evidence had been submitted supporting the charges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Looking at the rising numbers of silicosis cases, the Western Occupational & Environmental Medical Assn. submitted a petition to the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board in December seeking more meaningful change.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

We had no idea what this meant but everyone in the household submitted to having the strip of cloth wrapped around his arm and air pumped into it.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Manchester City's interest in Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez has been no secret, despite not submitting a bid for the Argentine before the Blues' Friday deadline.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Was submitting a bad self-tape part of a strategy to land the role?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

I spent the past year submitting open-records requests to state agencies, universities and youth health programs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Bezos ultimately decided against submitting an offer for either franchise but now looks set to enter the sporting arena with Liverpool.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

“I was also thinking,” the social worker added, “that in addition to submitting the recordings of residents’ stories, we might ask a few of them to write letters on your behalf.”

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

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