Library / English Dictionary

COMMIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: committed    , committing   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause

Example:

consecrate your life to the church

Synonyms:

commit; consecrate; dedicate; devote; give

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "commit" is one way to...):

apply; employ; use; utilise; utilize (put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose)

Verb group:

give (offer in good faith)

give; sacrifice (endure the loss of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "commit"):

consecrate; vow (dedicate to a deity by a vow)

rededicate (dedicate anew)

apply (apply oneself to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Derivation:

commitment (the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make an investment

Example:

Put money into bonds

Synonyms:

commit; invest; place; put

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "commit" is one way to...):

drop; expend; spend (pay out)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "commit"):

fund (invest money in government securities)

roll over (re-invest (a previous investment) into a similar fund or security)

shelter (invest (money) so that it is not taxable)

tie up (invest so as to make unavailable for other purposes)

job; speculate (invest at a risk)

buy into (buy stocks or shares of a company)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

commitment (an engagement by contract involving financial obligation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to be admitted; of persons to an institution

Example:

he was committed to prison

Synonyms:

charge; commit; institutionalise; institutionalize; send

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "commit" is one way to...):

transfer (move from one place to another)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "commit"):

hospitalise; hospitalize (admit into a hospital)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

commitment; committal (the official act of consigning a person to confinement (as in a prison or mental hospital))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Confer a trust upon

Example:

I commit my soul to God

Synonyms:

commit; confide; entrust; intrust; trust

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "commit" is one way to...):

give; hand; pass; pass on; reach; turn over (place into the hands or custody of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "commit"):

commend (give to in charge)

charge; consign (give over to another for care or safekeeping)

recommit (commit again)

obligate (commit in order to fulfill an obligation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something to somebody

Derivation:

committee (a special group delegated to consider some matter)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Engage in or perform

Example:

commit a random act of kindness

Synonyms:

commit; practice

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "commit" is one way to...):

engage; prosecute; pursue (carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Perform an act, usually with a negative connotation

Example:

pull a bank robbery

Synonyms:

commit; perpetrate; pull

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "commit" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "commit"):

make (carry out or commit)

recommit (commit once again, as of a crime)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They commit him to write the letter

Derivation:

commission; committal (the act of committing a crime)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Then, again, why should he leave the girl in the street and dart away to commit a felony?

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The Institute is committed to integrating the physical and engineering sciences with the life sciences, to advance basic research and medical care.

(National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, NCI Thesaurus)

A purine derivative with antineoplastic and anti-angiogenic properties. 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside (6-MMPR) inhibits amidophosphoribosyltransferase, the first committed step in de novo purine synthesis, and inhibits fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2)-induced cell proliferation.

(Methylmercaptopurine Riboside, NCI Thesaurus)

Provides support and time for an intensive, supervised research career development experience to individuals with a clinical doctoral degree who are committed to a career in laboratory or clinically-based research.

(Clinical Investigator Award (CIA), NCI Thesaurus)

It is committed to exploring the molecular basis of human cancer through a focused, multidisciplinary approach to improve the diagnosis and treatment of all major forms of the disease.

(Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center, NCI Thesaurus)

The Cancer Treatment Research Foundation (CTRF) is a non-profit organization committed to the eradication of cancer by providing the most innovative and promising patient-driven clinical research that delivers immediate treatment options.

(Cancer Treatment Research Foundation, NCI Thesaurus)

A neoplasm of lymphoblasts committed to the B-cell lineage, typically composed of small to medium-sized blast cells.

(B Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma, NCI Thesaurus/WHO)

Neurons—the primary brain cells of the central nervous system—evolve from neural stem cells and during development “commit” to becoming neurons.

(Cerebral organoid model provides clues about how to prevent virus-induced brain cell death, National Institutes of Health)

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT is committed to shortening the time needed for breakthrough discoveries to directly benefit cancer patients.

(David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, NCI Thesaurus)

Similar to EPO, epoetin zeta binds to and activates erythropoietin receptors on the surface of committed erythroid progenitors in the bone marrow resulting in their proliferation and differentiation into functional erythrocytes.

(Epoetin Zeta, NCI Thesaurus)