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

Under that program, solar companies can submit plans to reshore production to the Commerce Department and receive tariff exemptions for certain products upon approval.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The website arXiv, where scientists share their early-stage results, bans researchers for a year if they submit invented references.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Some people had been summoned two hours away to ICE offices in Cincinnati, or Blue Ash, to submit to tracking devices.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

The notices urge them to fight fires on their land, prevent burning and submit action plans.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

Please submit your completed worksheet to your instructor in the envelope provided.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

She says I’m running our marriage like a partnership where everyone submits receipts.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Baldwin said that if anybody submits two ballots, “it will be flagged” by safeguards already in place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 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

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

Alan submits to the inspection without resistance or questioning.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

No formal opposition to Measure A has been submitted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

The 41-year-old finalist submitted two takes: one where he didn’t filter his accent, and another he thought would be slightly more legible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Although Bass brought in more money, Raman had a larger amount socked away for the final days of the campaign, according to the filings submitted this week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

The councils have now formally submitted their revised funding proposals, under the Sustainable Communities Act, asking the government to reconsider its decision.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

To support this credo, he submitted a goodly number of original drawings and oil paintings.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Burch on Monday sued Los Angeles resident Christine Weber and her legal team, submitting a lawsuit in Los Angeles Supreme Court for malicious prosecution, abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 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

The UAW is holding an election for executive offices with a Monday deadline for submitting member ballots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

After a meeting Tuesday at the White House, amid global worries about what AI means for humanity, top AI executives said they had committed to measures for self-regulation, as opposed to submitting to government rules.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

He would forgive my disobedience, and in submitting to him, I might find joy.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

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