commit

commit — verb

1. to carry out an act that is against the law or that society considers morally wr

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to carry out an act that is against the law or that society considers morally wrong

Example

A bank employee committed fraud by secretly moving money out of customer accounts.

collocation: commit fraud / commit a crime

Tomás could not believe his cousin had committed an armed robbery at the downtown bank.

commit + specific crime (robbery, murder, theft)

Common collocations
  • commit a crime
  • commit murder
  • commit fraud
  • commit an offense
  • commit a sin
  • commit suicide
  • commit a violation
Synonyms
  • perpetrate

    more formal and always negative; used mainly in legal contexts

  • carry out

    neutral tone; works for both positive and negative actions

  • do

    generic; needs context to signal wrongdoing

Antonyms
  • prevent

    stop a crime from happening before it is carried out

Grammar Patterns

commit + crime/offense/act

Usage Note

Object is always a negative act — a crime, offense, sin, violation, or morally wrong deed. You cannot commit a kindness or a favor. The fixed collocation 'commit suicide' belongs here: suicide is treated as a wrong act.

Common Mistakes

He committed a mistake on the test.
He made a mistake on the test.
'commit' is for serious wrongdoing, not everyday errors.
She committed a good deed.
She did a good deed.
'commit' carries a negative connotation and is not used for positive actions.

2. to put your time, money, effort, or loyalty into a person, organization, or acti

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveC2
Definition

to put your time, money, effort, or loyalty into a person, organization, or activity because you believe it is important

Example

Both parents committed themselves to helping their son finish his university degree.

reflexive: commit oneself to + gerund

The city council committed half a million dollars to building a new public library.

commit + money + to + noun phrase

Common collocations
  • commit time to
  • commit resources to
  • commit money to
  • commit oneself to
  • commit to a relationship
  • commit to a project
Synonyms
  • devote

    very similar; 'devote' emphasises personal dedication while 'commit' emphasises obligation

  • pledge

    more formal; used for promises of support or money

  • dedicate

    slightly more emotional; often used for life purpose or art

Antonyms
  • withhold

    refuse to give time, money, or support

Grammar Patterns

commit + object + to + noun/gerund

commit to + noun/gerund

commit oneself to + noun/gerund

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (CRIME): here 'commit' takes resources (time, money, energy) or a reflexive pronoun (oneself), followed by 'to'. The intransitive form 'commit to [something]' is common in business and personal relationships.

Common Mistakes

I committed to go to the party.
I committed to going to the party.
'to' is a preposition here, followed by a gerund or noun, not an infinitive.
She committed her time for the project.
She committed her time to the project.
'commit to' is the standard collocation, not 'commit for'.

3. to state an opinion or position openly, without necessarily dedicating resources

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to state an opinion or position openly, without necessarily dedicating resources to it

Example

The senator committed herself to the position that taxes on middle-class families should be lowered.

reflexive: commit oneself to + that-clause position

Rohan committed to the position that public college tuition should be free for low-income students.

commit to + the position that + clause (stated opinion)

Common collocations
  • commit oneself to a view
  • commit to a position
  • commit to a stance
  • refuse to commit
Synonyms
  • declare

    more formal; implies a public announcement

  • state

    neutral; simply says what one thinks without the implication of a binding position

  • affirm

    formal; suggests a firm, confident statement

Antonyms
  • waiver

    to avoid stating a firm opinion; to be vague

Grammar Patterns

commit oneself to + noun/that-clause

commit to + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used with a reflexive pronoun (commit oneself). Frequently appears in political, legal, or formal contexts where a person is expected to take a public stand. The negative form 'refuse to commit oneself' is very common.

Common Mistakes

The manager committed that the project will finish on time.
The manager committed himself to finishing the project on time.
this sense requires 'oneself to' before stating the position.

4. to learn something carefully so that you can recall it exactly without looking a

4.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to learn something carefully so that you can recall it exactly without looking at notes

Example

The actress committed all her lines to memory before the first rehearsal began.

fixed phrase: commit [something] to memory

Mrs. Yamada asked her students to commit the haiku to memory before Friday's recitation.

passive: be asked to commit [something] to memory

Common collocations
  • commit to memory
  • commit lines to memory
  • commit facts to memory
  • commit a poem to memory
Synonyms
  • memorize

    the standard modern term; more direct and everyday

  • learn by heart

    common in classroom contexts; suggests word-for-word recall

Antonyms
  • forget

    to lose information from memory

Grammar Patterns

commit + object + to memory

Usage Note

Chiefly used in the fixed phrase 'commit to memory.' In modern everyday language, 'memorize' or 'learn by heart' are more common. This sense sounds slightly formal or traditional.

5. to write something in a permanent form so that it is recorded or preserved for l

5.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to write something in a permanent form so that it is recorded or preserved for later use

Example

The secretary committed the meeting notes to paper before anyone left the room.

fixed phrase: commit to paper

Jin committed the agreed price and delivery date to writing before signing the contract.

fixed phrase: commit to writing

Common collocations
  • commit to paper
  • commit to writing
  • commit thoughts to paper
Synonyms
  • write down

    the everyday equivalent; much more common in speech

  • put in writing

    slightly more formal; emphasises creating a permanent record

  • record

    general term; can include audio or video

  • note down

    briefer; suggests jotting quick points

Antonyms
  • erase

    to remove written content

Grammar Patterns

commit + object + to paper/writing

Usage Note

Chiefly used in the fixed phrases 'commit to paper' and 'commit to writing.' This sense is formal or literary in tone. In everyday speech, 'write down' or 'put in writing' are far more common.

6. to send a person to prison or a psychiatric hospital through an official legal p

6.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to send a person to prison or a psychiatric hospital through an official legal process

Example

The judge committed the convicted drug dealer to a maximum-security prison for twenty years.

After the psychiatric evaluation, the court committed the patient to a mental health facility.

collocation: committed to a psychiatric/mental health facility

Common collocations
  • commit to prison
  • commit to a psychiatric hospital
  • commit to a mental institution
  • be committed for treatment
Synonyms
  • send to prison

    the everyday equivalent; less formal than 'commit'

  • confine

    more general; can mean restrict someone to any enclosed space

  • incarcerate

    strictly for prison; very formal

Antonyms
  • release

    to set free from an institution

Grammar Patterns

commit + person + to + institution

be committed to + institution

Usage Note

Almost always used in the passive voice ('be committed to prison/hospital'). The active form is rare and usually judicial ('the judge committed him'). The institution is named after 'to': prison, psychiatric hospital, mental health facility, or similar.

Common Mistakes

The police committed the thief to jail.
The judge committed the thief to prison.
only a court or legal authority can 'commit' someone. The police arrest and detain.

7. to move a case upward in the court system so that a more senior court will hear

7.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to move a case upward in the court system so that a more senior court will hear the trial or decide the sentence

Example

The local magistrate committed the theft case to a higher criminal court for trial by jury.

legal: commit a case to a higher court

The defendant was committed to a higher court for sentencing on the drug charges.

passive: be committed to [court] for sentencing

Common collocations
  • commit a case to
  • commit to a higher court
  • commit for trial
  • commit for sentencing
Synonyms
  • remand

    common in US law; can also mean sending a case back to a lower court

  • transfer

    general legal term; less specific to higher court referral

Grammar Patterns

commit + case/person + to + court

Usage Note

A technical legal term used mainly in British and Commonwealth legal systems. In American English, 'remand' or 'transfer' is more common for sending a case to a higher court. Frequently passive.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Commit' is the standard verb for doing something legally or morally wrong, and it is the only one that is specifically tied to crimes, sins, and violations. 'Perpetrate' is more formal and always negative, commonly found in legal writing or news reports ('perpetrate a fraud'). 'Carry out' is neutral and works for both positive and negative actions ('carry out a plan' or 'carry out an attack'), so it needs context to signal wrongdoing. 'Do' and 'perform' are very general; on their own they carry no negative connotation at all ('do a good job,' 'perform a service'). Use 'commit' when the focus is on the wrongness of the act itself: 'He committed a crime' sounds natural, while 'he performed a crime' sounds odd. In everyday conversation, 'commit a crime' is the fixed collocation that native speakers reach for automatically.

commit ↗perpetratecarry out ↗do ↗perform ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • fully commit
  • deeply committed
  • actively committed
  • firmly committed

Phrases

  • commit oneself to
  • commit to memory
  • commit to paper
  • commit to writing

Prepositions

  • commit to
  • commit in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'committere', a combination of 'com-' (together) and 'mittere' (to send or release). The original meaning was 'to bring together' or 'to join'. In Latin, the word was used in legal contexts for 'to bring a case to trial', which led to the sense of 'to do something wrong' (as in committing a crime). Over time, the meaning expanded to: pledging oneself (obligating), entrusting something to a person or medium (as in committing to paper or memory), and officially sending someone to a place (as in committing to prison). English borrowed the word via Old French 'commettre'.