Adjacent Words

Commit definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COMMIT, v.t. Literally, to send to or upon; to throw, put or lay upon. Hence,
1. To give in trust; to put into the hands or power of another; to entrust; with to.
Commit thy way to the Lord. Psalms 37.
The things thou hast heard of me, commit to faithful men. 2 Timothy 2.
2. To put into any place for preservation; to deposit; as, to commit a passage in a book to memory; to commit the body to the grave.
3. To put or sent to, for confinement; as, to commit an offender to prison. Hence for the sake of brevity, commit is used for imprison. The sheriff has committed the offender.
These two were committed, at least restrained of their liberty.
4. To do; to effect or perpetrate; as, to commit murder, treason, felony, or trespass.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Exodus 20.
5. To join or put together, for a contest; to match; followed by with; a latinism.
How does Philopolis commit the opponent with the respondent.
6. To place in a state of hostility or incongruity. Committing short and long words. But this seems to be the same signification as the foregoing.
7. To expose or endanger by a preliminary step or decision which cannot be recalled; as, to commit the peace of a country by espousing the cause of a belligerent.
You might have satisfied every duty of political friendship without committing the honor of your sovereign.
8. To engage; to pledge; or to pledge by implication.
The general--addressed letters to Gen. Gates and to Gen. Heath, cautioning them against any sudden assent to the proposal, which might possibly be considered as committing the faith of the United States.
And with the reciprocal pronoun, to commit ones self, is to do some act, or make some declaration, which may bind the person in honor, good faith, or consistency, to pursue a certain course of conduct, or to adhere to the tenor of that declaration.
9. To refer or entrust to a committee, or select number of persons, for their consideration and report; a term of legislation; as, the petition or the bill is committed. Is it the pleasure of the house to commit the bill?

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: perform an act, usually with a negative connotation; "perpetrate a crime"; "pull a bank robbery" [syn: perpetrate, commit, pull]
2: give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause; "She committed herself to the work of God"; "give one's talents to a good cause"; "consecrate your life to the church" [syn: give, dedicate, consecrate, commit, devote]
3: cause to be admitted; of persons to an institution; "After the second episode, she had to be committed"; "he was committed to prison" [syn: commit, institutionalize, institutionalise, send, charge]
4: confer a trust upon; "The messenger was entrusted with the general's secret"; "I commit my soul to God" [syn: entrust, intrust, trust, confide, commit]
5: make an investment; "Put money into bonds" [syn: invest, put, commit, place] [ant: disinvest, divest]
6: engage in or perform; "practice safe sex"; "commit a random act of kindness" [syn: commit, practice]

Merriam Webster's

verb (committed; committing) Etymology: Middle English committen, from Anglo-French committer, from Latin committere to connect, entrust, from com- + mittere to send Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to put into charge or trust ; entrust b. to place in a prison or mental institution c. to consign or record for preservation <commit it to memory> d. to put into a place for disposal or safekeeping e. to refer (as a legislative bill) to a committee for consideration and report 2. to carry into action deliberately ; perpetrate <commit a crime> 3. a. obligate, bind <a contract committing the company to complete the project on time> b. to pledge or assign to some particular course or use <commit all troops to the attack> c. to reveal the views of <refused to commit himself on the issue> intransitive verb 1. obsolete to perpetrate an offense 2. to obligate or pledge oneself • committable adjective Synonyms: commit, entrust, confide, consign, relegate mean to assign to a person or place for a definite purpose. commit may express the general idea of delivering into another's charge or the special sense of transferring to a superior power or to a special place of custody <committed the felon to prison>. entrust implies committing with trust and confidence <the president is entrusted with broad powers>. confide implies entrusting with great assurance or reliance <confided complete control of my affairs to my attorney>. consign suggests removing from one's control with formality or finality <consigned the damaging notes to the fire>. relegate implies a consigning to a particular class or sphere often with a suggestion of getting rid of <relegated to an obscure position in the company>.

U.S. Military Dictionary

The process of committing one or more air interceptors or surface-to-air missiles for interception against a target track.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (committed, committing) 1 (usu. foll. by to) entrust or consign for: a safe keeping (I commit him to your care). b treatment, usu. destruction (committed the book to the flames). 2 perpetrate, do (esp. a crime, sin, or blunder). 3 pledge, involve, or bind (esp. oneself) to a certain course or policy (does not like committing herself; committed by the vow he had made). 4 (as committed adj.) (often foll. by to) a morally dedicated or politically aligned (a committed Christian; committed to the cause; a committed socialist). b obliged (to take certain action) (felt committed to staying there). 5 Polit. refer (a bill etc.) to a committee. Phrases and idioms: commit to memory memorize. commit to prison consign officially to custody, esp. on remand. Derivatives: committable adj. committer n. Etymology: ME f. L committere join, entrust (as COM-, mittere miss- send)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Commit Com*mit", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Committed; p. pr. & vb. n. Committing.] [L. committere, commissum, to connect, commit; com- + mittere to send. See Mission.] 1. To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to intrust; to consign; -- used with to, unto. Commit thy way unto the Lord. --Ps. xxxvii. 5. Bid him farewell, commit him to the grave. --Shak. 2. To put in charge of a jailor; to imprison. These two were committed. --Clarendon. 3. To do; to perpetrate, as a crime, sin, or fault. Thou shalt not commit adultery. --Ex. xx. 14. 4. To join for a contest; to match; -- followed by with. [R.] --Dr. H. More. 5. To pledge or bind; to compromise, expose, or endanger by some decisive act or preliminary step; -- often used reflexively; as, to commit one's self to a certain course. You might have satisfied every duty of political friendship, without commiting the honor of your sovereign. --Junius. Any sudden assent to the proposal . . . might possibly be considered as committing the faith of the United States. --Marshall. 6. To confound. [An obsolete Latinism.] Committing short and long [quantities]. --Milton. To commit a bill (Legislation), to refer or intrust it to a committee or others, to be considered and reported. To commit to memory, or To commit, to learn by heart; to memorize. Syn: To Commit, Intrust, Consign. Usage: These words have in common the idea of transferring from one's self to the care and custody of another. Commit is the widest term, and may express only the general idea of delivering into the charge of another; as, to commit a lawsuit to the care of an attorney; or it may have the special sense of intrusting with or without limitations, as to a superior power, or to a careful servant, or of consigning, as to writing or paper, to the flames, or to prison. To intrust denotes the act of committing to the exercise of confidence or trust; as, to intrust a friend with the care of a child, or with a secret. To consign is a more formal act, and regards the thing transferred as placed chiefly or wholly out of one's immediate control; as, to consign a pupil to the charge of his instructor; to consign goods to an agent for sale; to consign a work to the press.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Commit Com"mit, v. i. To sin; esp., to be incontinent. [Obs.] Commit not with man's sworn spouse. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(commits, committing, committed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If someone commits a crime or a sin, they do something illegal or bad. I have never committed any crime... This is a man who has committed murder. VERB: V n, V n 2. If someone commits suicide, they deliberately kill themselves. There are unconfirmed reports he tried to commit suicide. VERB: V n 3. If you commit money or resources to something, you decide to use them for a particular purpose. They called on Western nations to commit more money to the poorest nations... He should not commit American troops without the full consent of Congress. VERB: V n to/for n/-ing, V n 4. If you commit yourself to something, you say that you will definitely do it. If you commit yourself to someone, you decide that you want to have a long-term relationship with them. I would advise people to think very carefully about committing themselves to working Sundays... I'd like a friendship that might lead to something deeper, but I wouldn't want to commit myself too soon... You don't have to commit to anything over the phone. VERB: V pron-refl to -ing/n, V pron-refl, V to n, also V n to n • committed He said the government remained committed to peace. ...a committed socialist. ADJ: oft ADJ to n/-ing 5. If you do not want to commit yourself on something, you do not want to say what you really think about it or what you are going to do. It isn't their diplomatic style to commit themselves on such a delicate issue... She didn't want to commit herself one way or the other. VERB: with brd-neg, V pron-refl on n, V pron-refl 6. If someone is committed to a hospital, prison, or other institution, they are officially sent there for a period of time. Arthur's drinking caused him to be committed to a psychiatric hospital. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to n, also be V-ed 7. In the British legal system, if someone is committed for trial, they are sent by magistrates to stand trial in a crown court. He is expected to be committed for trial at Liverpool Crown Court. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed for n 8. If you commit something to paper or to writing, you record it by writing it down. If you commit something to memory, you learn it so that you will remember it. She had not committed anything to paper about it... I'll repeat that so you can commit it to memory. VERB: V n to n, V n to n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ko-mit': Used in two senses:

(1) "To give in charge" or "entrust": sim, "to put" (Job 5:8); galal, "to roll" (Ps 37:5; Pr 16:3); paqadh, "to give, in charge" (Ps 31:5 the King James Version; compare Lu 23:46); tithemi, "committed to us (the Revised Version, margin "placed in us") the word of reconciliation" (2Co 5:19); paratheke, "that which I have committed unto him" (2Ti 1:12; the Revised Version, margin "that which he hath committed unto me," Greek "my deposit"); "that which is committed unto thee" (1Ti 6:20, Greek "the deposit"); "that good thing," etc. (2Ti 1:14, Greek "the good deposit").

(2) "To do or practice (evil)": prasso "commit such things" (Ro 1:32, the Revised Version (British and American) "practice"; compare Ro 2:2). In 1Jo 3:4,8 "doeth sin" (poieo, the King James Version "committeth sin") shows that it is not committing a single sin that is in view, but sinful practice.

W. L. Walker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Intrust, consign, confide, give in trust. 2. Deposit, consign, resign, give over, put, place, lay. 3. Perpetrate, enact, do, perform. 4. Imprison, send to prison, put in custody, place in confinement. 5. Engage, pledge, implicate. 6. Compromise, endanger, bring into danger, put at hazard, put in jeopardy. 7. Place or put in charge of or hand over to a committee.

Moby Thesaurus

accept obligation, accomplish, accredit, achieve, agree, agree to, allocate, allot, answer for, assign, assure, authorize, be answerable for, be responsible for, be security for, bind, bring about, bring off, bring to pass, carry out, charge, charter, commend, commission, commit to prison, confide, confine, consecrate, consign, contract, contravene, covenant, dedicate, delegate, deliver, depute, deputize, destine, detach, detail, devolute, devolve, devolve upon, devote, do, do to, effect, effectuate, empower, enfeoff, engage, entrust, execute, give, give in charge, give in trust, go and do, go bail for, guarantee, hand over, have an understanding, imprison, incarcerate, infeudate, inflict, institutionalize, intern, license, make, make imperative, make incumbent, mission, move, obligate, oblige, offend, offer, ordain, pay, perform, perpetrate, perpetuate, pledge, post, produce, promise, pull, pull off, put away, realize, recommit, relegate, remand, remit, remove, render, require, saddle with, scandalize, send away, send out, send to jail, send up, sentence, set apart, shake hands on, shift, shut up, sin, submit, swear, take and do, take the vows, tie, transfer, transgress, trespass, trust, turn over, undertake, up and do, violate, vouchsafe, vow, warrant, wreak