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com·mit (kə-mĭt)
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v. com·mit·ted, com·mit·ting, com·mits
v.tr.
1. To do, perform, or perpetrate: commit a murder.
2. To put in trust or charge; entrust: commit oneself to the care of a doctor; commit responsibilities to an assistant.
3. To consign for future use or for preservation: We must commit the necessary funds for the project.
4. To place officially in confinement or custody, as in a mental health facility.
5. To put into a place to be disposed of or kept safe: committed the manuscript to the flames.
6.
a. To make known the views of (oneself) on an issue: I never commit myself on such issues.
b. To bind, obligate, or devote, as by a pledge: They were committed to follow orders. She committed herself to her art.
7. To refer (a legislative bill, for example) to a committee.
v.intr.
To pledge, obligate, or devote one's own self: felt that he was too young to commit fully to marriage.
[Middle English committen, from Latin committere : com-, com- + mittere, to send.]
com·mitta·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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