commit Hear it!

commit Definition

com·mit (kə mit′)

transitive verb -·mit′·ted, -·mit′·ting

  1. to give in charge or trust; deliver for safekeeping; entrust; consign we commit his fame to posterity
  2. to put officially in custody or confinement committed to prison
  3. to hand over or set apart to be disposed of or put to some purpose to commit something to the trash heap
  4. to do or perpetrate (an offense or crime)
  5. to bind as by a promise; pledge; engage committed to the struggle
  6. to make known the opinions or views of to commit oneself on an issue
  7. to refer (a bill, etc.) to a committee to be considered

Etymology: ME committen < L committere, to bring together, commit < com-, together + mittere, to send: see mission

intransitive verb

Informal to make a pledge or promise: often with to

commit Related Forms

com·mit′·table adjective

commit Idioms

commit to memory

to learn by heart; memorize

commit to paper

or commit to writing

to write down; record

commit Synonyms

commit

v.

  1. To perform

    perpetrate, do, act, carry out; see perform 1.

  2. To give in charge

    entrust, confide, consign, delegate, relegate, leave to, give to do, turn over, assign, head over, put in the hands of, allot, charge, invest, allocate, apportion, rely upon, depend upon, confer a trust, bind over, make responsible for, pledge, bind, oblige, obligate, constrain, make another's duty, empower, employ, dispatch, send, vest in, authorize, deputize, engage, commission, depute, convey, put in custody, institutionalize, confine, imprison, lock up*, put away*; see also assign 1, imprison.

commit, the basic term here, implies the delivery of a person or thing into the charge or keeping of another; entrust and confide imply committal based on trust and confidence, with, confide sometimes also suggesting the private nature of what is entrusted; consign suggests formal action in transferring something to another's possession or control; relegate implies assigning to a specific class, sphere, place, etc., esp. one of inferiority, and usually suggests the literal or figurative removal of something undesirable

commit suicide

kill oneself, take one's own life, take an overdose (of any dangerous drug), slash one's wrists, shoot oneself, slit one's own throat, do away with oneself, die by one's own hand, commit hara-kiri, commit seppuku, end it all*, throw in the towel*, pack it in*, blow one's brains out*.

commit Law Definition

v

  1. To do; perpetrate.
  2. To order a person’s placement in, or to send a person to, a hospital, mental health facility, prison, or similar institution, especially pursuant to court order.

commit Usage Examples

Object

  • suicide: I doubt very much they were expecting to commit suicide at the end of the day.
  • offense: In these cases, the child will not be committing an offense.
  • crime: Can you say what causes people to commit crimes?
  • adultery: That person has committed adultery of the most grievous sort.
  • atrocity: He warned Whitehall: " We only have their own word for it that they have not committed atrocities or war crimes.
  • sin: Mr Davis has committed the cardinal sin of losing ground at every stage this week.

Preposition: on

spur: Most crime is opportunist, committed on the spur of the moment, or when a car or house is left unlocked.

Subject

employe: In summary, both an employe and an employer may be liable for the act committed by an employe.

Modifying Another Word

  • firmly: The Treaty parties remain firmly committed to a system that is still effective in protecting their essential Antarctic interests.
  • totally: Our staff are enthusiastic and totally committed to providing you with the best level of service possible.
  • passionately: Galloway is passionately committed to his constituents and causes.
  • deeply: It was good to hear that Willie sees staff in East Lothian to be deeply committed to the concept of inclusion.
  • fully: Privacy Policy AES is fully committed to ensuring the privacy of its website users.
  • strongly: I have been strongly committed to creating such an important body for the EU from the first day I came into office.

Used with why or when

when: Greater resources may need to be committed when pursuing opposition proceedings than has historically been the case.

Infinitive complement

  • respond: The chief executives are committed to respond within 72 hours to any issues raised.
  • equal: Oxford Brookes University is committed to equal opportunities as well as to the rights and empowerment of service users.

Preposition: for

  • contempt: It did not include orders of the District Judge because before l990 the District Judge had no jurisdiction to commit for contempt.
  • trial: Of the 1220 committed for trial, only one was acquitted.

Preposition: by

employe: In summary, both an employe and an employer may be liable for the act committed by an employe.