Commit 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. Psa 37.
The things thou hast heard of me, commit to faithful men. 2 Tim 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. Exo 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?
commit
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]
commit
c.1390, from L. committere "to bring together," from com- "together"
+ mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Evolution into modern range of
meanings is not entirely clear. Sense of "perpetrating" was ancient in
L. Intransitive use (in place of commit oneself) first recorded 1982,
probably influenced by existentialism use (1948) of commitment to
translate Sartre's engagement "to emotionally and morally engage."
commit 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 verb1.a. to put into charge or trust ;entrustb. 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 verb1.obsolete to perpetrate
an offense 2. to obligate or pledge oneself
• committableadjective 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>.
commit 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)
commit
(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 commitssuicide, 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 commityourself to something, you say that you will definitely do
it. If you commityourself 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
• committedHe said the government remained committed to peace....a committed socialist.ADJ: oft ADJ to n/-ing
5. If you do not want to commityourself 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 committedto 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
commit
kəˈmɪt 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. øcommit
to memory memorize. commit to prison consign officially to custody, esp. on
remand. øøcommittable adj. committer n. [ME f. L committere join, entrust
(as COM-, mittere miss- send)]
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.
COMMIT
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
commit
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.
commit
kəˈmɪt v.
1 entrust, consign, transfer, assign, delegate, hand over, deliver, give; allot, pledge,
allocate: They committed the goods to traders with strong distribution facilities.
2 sentence, send (away), confine, shut up, intern, put away, imprison, incarcerate:
The judge committed her to prison. You can be committed for such behaviour.
3 perpetrate, do, perform, carry out: They committed murder for money.
4 commit oneself. pledge, promise, covenant, agree, assure, swear, give one's word,
vow, vouchsafe, engage, undertake, guarantee, bind oneself: He committed himself to buying the
company after seeing the books.
126 Moby Thesaurus words for "commit":
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
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