Word
commit
Phoneticscom·mit, stress on the second syllable
US/kəˈmɪt/
UK/kəmˈɪt/
Definitions
01to do something wrong
B1 · Intermediate
v. to do something illegal or morally wrong.
v. to perpetrate a crime, error, or immoral act. Transitive, requiring a direct object.
日本語:犯す※
“He was arrested after he tried to commit a robbery at the local bank.”
“The investigation sought to determine whether the defendant intended to commit fraud or if the discrepancies were merely accounting errors.”
Synonyms
02to pledge or promise
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to promise to give your time, money, or loyalty to a person or goal.
v. to pledge or bind oneself to a particular course of action, policy, or person. Often used reflexively or with the preposition 'to'.
日本語:コミットする※
“You should not commit to the project if you are too busy to finish it.”
“The government refused to commit to a specific timeline for the tax reforms until the economic forecast was finalized.”
Antonyms
03to send to a hospital or prison
C1 · Advanced Law Formal
v. to officially send someone to a prison or a mental hospital.
v. to consign someone officially to confinement in a prison or a psychiatric facility. Usually passive or formal in register.
“The judge decided to commit the man to a psychiatric ward for observation.”
“Under the new legislation, the state can commit individuals to involuntary treatment only if they pose an immediate danger to themselves or others.”
04to save computer changes
B2 · Upper Intermediate Computing Technical
v. to save a set of changes to a database or a shared project so they become permanent.
v. to execute a command that makes a set of data changes permanent in a repository or database. Ambitransitive use.
“Don't forget to commit your code changes before you leave for the day.”
“The developer had to resolve several merge conflicts before the system would allow her to commit the new features to the master branch.”
05a saved change
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Computing Technical
n. a specific set of changes saved to a computer project.
n. an individual update or submission of source code to a version control repository.
“The latest commit fixed the bug that was causing the app to crash.”
“Reviewing the project history revealed that a commit from last Tuesday had accidentally deleted the configuration files.”
Synonyms
06a student athlete's promise
C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Sports American English · Informal
n. a student who has promised to play for a specific college team.
n. a high school athlete who has verbally or formally pledged to attend and compete for a specific university.
“The university is excited about their new five-star commit for the basketball season.”
“As a top-tier commit, the quarterback faced immense pressure to perform during his first week of collegiate training camp.”
Synonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “commit” in context.
Verb
01. commit adultery
“He admitted that he had committed adultery during his first marriage.”
verb + noun
02. commit crime
“He was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit.”
verb + noun
03. commit murder
“The suspect was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.”
verb + noun
04. commit oneself
“She wasn't ready to commit herself to a long-term relationship.”
verb + pron
05. commit suicide
“The character in the play attempts to commit suicide.”
verb + noun
06. commit to
“The company will commit to reducing its carbon footprint by next year.”
verb + prep
Adjective
07. fully commit
“You need to fully commit to the training program to see results.”
adv + verb
Noun
08. refusal to commit
“His refusal to commit caused a lot of tension in the partnership.”
noun + verb
09. commit an act of
“The group was accused of committing an act of terrorism.”
10. commit resources to
“The government must commit more resources to education.”
11. commit to a project
“We need to decide if we can commit to a project of this size.”
Usage
Often takes the preposition 'to' followed by a noun or gerund. When referring to a crime, it is transitive and takes a direct object.
Pitfall
I commit to help you
I commit to helping you
When 'commit to' is followed by a verb, that verb must be in the -ing (gerund) form because 'to' is a preposition here.
Culture
'Commit' carries weight in English — stronger than 'decide'. Saying 'I'm committed' implies you've tied yourself to the outcome, not just chosen it.
Etymology
From Latin committere ("to bring together, entrust"), from com- ("with") + mittere ("to send"). Reached English via Old French commettre and Middle English committen.
Latin committere, formed from com- "together" and mittere "to send".
Twentieth-century computing adopted the verb for the act of sending a digital change into permanent storage; the earlier sense "to entrust" now survives inside the machine rather than the monastery.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Word family
VERB
ADJECTIVE
Idioms
01. commit to paper
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B1 PreliminaryIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.4.0–5.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 3.0–3.544–71TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.550–784
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B1 · IntermediateOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/commit
※ 機械で選んだ訳語です。ネイティブスピーカーによる確認はまだです。
「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0