commit

American  

[kuh-mit] / kəˈmɪt /

verb (used with object)

• commits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• committed,
  past participle,  past
• committing
  present participle

1. 

   to do; perform; perpetrate.

   to commit murder; to commit an error.

   Synonyms:

   execute, effect

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.

3. to bind or obligate, as by pledge or assurance; pledge.

   to commit oneself to a promise; to be committed to a course of action.

4. to consign for preservation.

   to commit ideas to writing; to commit a poem to memory.

5. to give in trust or charge, especially for safekeeping; consign; commend: Every summer we were committed to babysitters and camp counselors.

   to commit one's soul to God;

   Every summer we were committed to babysitters and camp counselors.

6. to consign to custody.

   to commit a delinquent to a juvenile detention center.

7. 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.

8. to deliver for treatment, disposal, etc.; relegate.

   to commit a manuscript to the flames.

9. to send into a battle.

   The commander has committed all his troops to the front lines.

10. Parliamentary Procedure. to refer (a bill or the like) to a committee for consideration.

---

verb (used without object)

• commits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• committed,
  past participle,  past
• committing
  present participle

1. to bind or obligate oneself, as by pledge or assurance; devote or engage oneself to a person or thing: If he hasn’t committed after eight years, he’s never going to marry you.

   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

1. com·mit su·i·cide, to intentionally end one’s own life.

commit British  

/ kəˈmɪt /

verb

1. to hand over, as for safekeeping; charge; entrust

   to commit a child to the care of its aunt

2. to learn by heart; memorize

3. to confine officially or take into custody

   to commit someone to prison

4. (usually passive) to pledge or align (oneself), as to a particular cause, action, or attitude

   a committed radical

5. to order (forces) into action

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

7. to surrender, esp for destruction

   she committed the letter to the fire

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• committer
  noun
• uncommit
  verb
• precommit
  verb (used with object)
• committable
  adjective
• noncommitted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• committing
  present
• committed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• commit
  simple
• commits
  simple
• have committed
  perfect
• has committed
  perfect
• am committing
  progressive
• are committing
  progressive
• is committing
  progressive
• have been committing
  perfect progressive
• has been committing
  perfect progressive

Past

• committed
  simple
• had committed
  perfect
• was committing
  progressive
• were committing
  progressive
• had been committing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will commit
  simple
• will have committed
  perfect
• will be committing
  progressive
• will have been committing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of commit

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-

Explanation

To commit is to fully dedicate yourself to something. To commit yourself to being the coolest kid on the beach means spending hours at the mall trying on trunks and flip-flops. Commit can also mean "perform an act" — often the kind that can get you in trouble. Just ask anyone who's committed theft, or arson, or vandalism. If you are committing another person, that means you are sending that person to an institution. Someone may be committed to prison, or to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

commit commits committed committing

The bolder choice would have been to commit to expressing the despairing lessons of this world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Potential, excitement and progress are three words I associate with the club and I'm pleased to commit my future.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Continental was one of several U.S. oil companies that had hesitated for months to commit large amounts of capital to Venezuela.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

In July he signed a one-year contract worth $4.25 million to return for a 22nd season with the Washington Capitals, and has refused to commit to this being his final campaign.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

And we’d enlisted mayors from five hundred cities and towns across the country to commit to tackling childhood obesity on the local level.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

A hawkish BoJ that commits to further rate hikes, and perhaps more importantly, at a faster pace, could lead to the Japanese yen strengthening further, which would likely ripple across global markets.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

"Signing the Artemis Accords costs nothing and commits us to nothing beyond principles we already stand for," said Mullan.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

To his credit, Statham never attempts to act superior to the material — if anything, he overly commits to its cold tone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

But read carefully, the MOU commits Iran to charging no tolls “for 60 days only” and empowers it “to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait” in dialogue with Oman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

The belief in parental power is manifest in the first official act a parent commits: giving the baby a name.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Julia Garner, who previously played scammer Anna Delvey, is unrecognizable as Bankman-Fried’s girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, who committed fraud alongside him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

But he shouldn’t be let off so easy, because he committed another sin that too many Angelenos are guilty of:

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Many, including Potdar, also argue that globally, industrial foundations are being protected as sources of patient capital - money that can be committed for years to fund long-gestation projects and social goals.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

This strategy is classic “whataboutism,” which is defined as “the act or practice of responding to an accusation of wrongdoing by claiming that an offense committed by another is similar or worse.”

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

"No! She's not one bit bad. Some liar accused her of stealing a necklace, and they slammed her behind bars and didn't even try to prove she'd committed a crime."

From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman

Google’s Gemini model accessed the internet and hacked other companies during a test of its cybersecurity capabilities, the first known example of the company’s artificial-intelligence systems autonomously committing such an act.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Experts offered one key piece of advice for those looking to do so: Do extensive research before committing.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

“We are committing to put this chapter behind us,” Ballmer’s statement read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

The onion — and yes, I use a whole medium white onion, because we are committing to the bit — melts into the background, helped along by both onion and garlic powder.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

"But why would I make things even worse by committing a crime? I don't want to spend opening night in jail!"

From "The Cinderella Ballet Mystery: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #4" by Carolyn Keene

Related Words

• allocate
• charge
• engage
• give
• hold
• invest
• offer
• promise
• send