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

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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-

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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

DoorDash offers some consumers several dollars in credits if they submit a photo of their food that can be used for the online menu.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

It followed notices sent to seven other Indonesian companies on Friday, telling them to deploy fire-fighting teams, stop burning or starting new fires, and submit their action plans to the NEA.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

"We submit lack of coherent account is an important factor which supports what we are saying and undermines the credibility of the witness as a whole," Piercy said.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

USC considers SAT and ACT scores if applicants submit them but does not require them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

He held out his hand to him and cried, “I will submit to any penalty you impose. You be the judge.”

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

People can submit their views as part of a consultation, external - which opened on 17 September and runs until 27 October - before Natural England submits its final plans to Eagle and her department.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

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

When Okatsuka thinks about the fans who call her “mother,” the bowl-haired stand-up submits that they would be better off calling her “father.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

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

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

Facilities associated with Nathan Young submitted over $1.6 billion in claims and were paid more than $210 million between 2020 and 2026.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Traditional monitoring systems depend heavily on clinical trials, reports submitted to regulators, and information collected by healthcare professionals.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

The Ivy League institution submitted plans to the town for a $200 million expansion of an existing building to house the computer-science department.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

“I submitted my resignation because I am responsible for everything that is happening,” Nuñez said on France Inter radio.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

They submitted the plan to Krogh, who asked John Ehrlichman for guidance.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

In West Bengal state, the Sabar Institute said Muslims accounted for roughly 70 percent of more than 2.7 million voters placed under adjudication despite submitting documents -- compared to around 27 percent of the electorate.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Technology companies must take all appropriate steps necessary to prevent their systems from submitting false information to law enforcement.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Analysts remain bullish with almost all of those submitting recommendations to FactSet advising buy, and the mean target price is almost double the current level of 262,000.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

I had to intern there several hours a week, but with his permission, I spent my hours submitting him for every.single.project.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

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

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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