submit

American  

[suhb-mit] / səbˈmɪt /

verb (used with object)

• submits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• submitted,
  past participle,  past
• submitting
  present participle

1. 

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

   Synonyms:

   resign, agree, obey, bow, comply

   Antonyms:

   fight

2. to subject to some kind of treatment or influence.

3. to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others.

   to submit a plan;

   to submit an application.

4. to state or urge with deference; suggest or propose (usually followed by a clause).

   I submit that full proof should be required.

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verb (used without object)

• submits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• submitted,
  past participle,  past
• submitting
  present participle

1. to yield oneself to the power or authority of another.

   to submit to a conqueror.

2. to allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment.

   to submit to chemotherapy.

3. to defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc..

   I submit to your superior judgment.

submit British  

/ səbˈmɪt /

verb

1. (often foll by to) to yield (oneself), as to the will of another person, a superior force, etc

2. (foll by to) to subject or be voluntarily subjected (to analysis, treatment, etc)

3. to refer (something to someone) for judgment or consideration

   to submit a claim

4. (tr; may take a clause as object) to state, contend, or propose deferentially

5. to defer or accede (to the decision, opinion, etc, of another)

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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?

• subatomic
• subliminal
• submarine
• submerge
• subside
• subterranean
• substitute

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

• submittal
  noun
• submitter
  noun
• resubmit
  verb
• presubmit
  verb (used with object)
• nonsubmissible
  adjective
• submissible
  adjective
• submittable
  adjective
• unsubmitting
  adjective
• submittingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• submitting
  present
• submitted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• submit
  simple
• submits
  simple
• have submitted
  perfect
• has submitted
  perfect
• am submitting
  progressive
• are submitting
  progressive
• is submitting
  progressive
• have been submitting
  perfect progressive
• has been submitting
  perfect progressive

Past

• submitted
  simple
• had submitted
  perfect
• was submitting
  progressive
• were submitting
  progressive
• had been submitting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will submit
  simple
• will have submitted
  perfect
• will be submitting
  progressive
• will have been submitting
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

submit submits submitted submitting

Under Measure LA, the mayor would be required to submit a proposed two-year budget to the City Council by April 1.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

City have been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period, though they continue to deny any wrongdoing and have until 2 October to submit an appeal.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

One source, who held a senior executive position at two Premier League sides, said they expected clubs to submit individual compensation claims against Manchester City.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

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

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

During papal assignments, he submits possible designs and fabric swatches to the Vatican office that organises masses and other papal celebrations, the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Amazon Pharmacy manages the entire process, including verifying eligibility, handling prior authorizations, and initiating enrollment, once a clinician submits an electronic GLP-1 prescription, the company said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

"I personally like when someone submits their booking request along with a nice introduction letter, telling me about themselves and the reason why they would be visiting London."

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Finally, Asher waves a hand once in front of him and submits his team’s pick to the announcer.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

No formal opposition arguments have been submitted to the registrar-recorder/county clerk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

More than 1000 citizen science observations have been submitted through iNaturalist and the Atlas of Living Australia, and the insects have also been studied scientifically for decades.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

Plans have been submitted for a £16.5bn data centre at the site of the former Chapelcross nuclear plant in the south of Scotland.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

By the time a student submitted a paper, understanding had emerged from the work required to create it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Within a few days the State submitted a peculiar pleading to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

"I served you faithfully. I served all of you, and our homeland Serbia, honourably and honestly throughout my presidential term," Vucic told supporters gathered outside the presidential palace shortly before submitting his resignation.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

After months of submitting applications, he accepted a sales job paying $50,000 a year with virtually no chance of earning a commission, based on the company’s benchmarks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

He said that they had told the council they would be submitting a planning application this week and that they were also seeking legal advice.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 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

I didn’t tell him why I wasn’t submitting the essay.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• propose
• put
• refer
• suggest
• table
• urge