submit

[ suhb-mit ]

verb (used with object)

, sub·mit·ted, sub·mit·ting.

1. to give over or yield to the power or authority of another (often used reflexively).

   Synonyms: resign, agree, obey, bow, comply

   Antonyms: fight

2. to subject to some kind of treatment or influence.
3. to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others:

   to submit a plan;

   to submit an application.

4. to state or urge with deference; suggest or propose (usually followed by a clause):

   I submit that full proof should be required.

verb (used without object)

, sub·mit·ted, sub·mit·ting.

1. to yield oneself to the power or authority of another:

   to submit to a conqueror.

2. to allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment:

   to submit to chemotherapy.

3. to defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc.:

   I submit to your superior judgment.

submit

/ səbˈmɪt /

verb

1. often foll by to to yield (oneself), as to the will of another person, a superior force, etc
2. foll by to to subject or be voluntarily subjected (to analysis, treatment, etc)
3. troften foll byto to refer (something to someone) for judgment or consideration

   to submit a claim

4. tr; may take a clause as object to state, contend, or propose deferentially
5. introften foll byto to defer or accede (to the decision, opinion, etc, of another)

Derived Forms

• subˈmitter, noun
• subˈmittal, noun
• subˈmittable, adjective

Other Words From

• sub·mit·ta·ble sub·mis·si·ble [s, uh, b-, mis, -, uh, -bel], adjective
• sub·mit·tal noun
• sub·mit·ter noun
• sub·mit·ting·ly adverb
• non·sub·mis·si·ble adjective
• pre·sub·mit verb (used with object) presubmitted presubmitting
• re·sub·mit verb resubmitted resubmitting
• un·sub·mit·ting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of submit¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English submitten, from Latin submittere “to lower, reduce, yield,” equivalent to sub- “under, below, beneath” + mittere “to send”; sub-

Word History and Origins

Origin of submit¹

C14: from Latin submittere to place under, from sub- + mittere to send

Synonym Study

See yield.

Example Sentences

Moore earned enthusiastic praise for her turn as Elisabeth Sparkle, a faded star who submits to a back-alley rejuvenation regime to reset her career.

From Los Angeles Times

Because Monterey police say that they investigated her claim, she doubtlessly had to submit to other interviews with other strangers.

From Salon

"Ukraine will never submit to the occupiers, and the Russian military will be punished for violating international law," the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

From BBC

“This scheme is in place to make sure all those impacted by the riots get the support they need, and we are now in the process of reviewing the bids submitted.”

From BBC

A spokesman for the Europe-based DP World Tour confirmed former Masters winner Garcia submitted an application to return to the membership before the 17 November deadline.

From BBC

Related Words

• propose
• put
• refer
• suggest
• table
• urge

More About Submit

Where does submit come from?

As we see in our Behind The Word on transfer, submit is an excellent example of how Latin roots can be found all over English vocabulary.

Submit entered English around 1325–75. The word is ultimately derived from the Latin submittere, meaning “to lower, reduce, yield.” This Latin verb is composed of two parts. The first part is sub-, a combining form based on the preposition sub, meaning “under, below.” The second part is mittere, a verb meaning “to send,” often with the sense of “letting (something) go.” Fun fact: another sense of submittere in Latin was “to let grow,” as one does with their hair.

Some of the most common senses of submit in English are “to turn in,” as one submits a homework assignment or document, and “to give in,” as one submits to the will of another.

Back to the Latin roots. Latin combined mittere with a variety of its own prefixes to form new verbs, many of which made their way into English in the 1300s.

• admit (from Latin admittere, literally “to send to”; see ad-)
• commit (from Latin committere, literally “to send with”; see com–)
• demit (from Latin dēmittere, literally “to send down”; see de–)
• emit (from Latin ēmittere, literally “to send out”; see e–)
• intermit (from Latin intermittere, literally “to send between”; see inter–)
• intromit (from Latin intrōmittere, literally “to send in”; see intro–)
• omit (from Latin omittere, with a literal meaning of, roughly, “to send in the way of”; see o-)
• permit (from Latin permittere, literally “to send through”; see per–)
• pretermit (from Latin praetermittere, literally “to send past”; see preter–)
• remit (from Latin remittere, literally “to send back”; see re–)
• transmit (from Latin trānsmittere, literally “to send across”; see trans–)

Now, for sub-. Too many words to list here feature the prefix sub-, either as borrowed from Latin or formed in English. Below are just a few examples. Can you think of more?

• subatomic
• subliminal
• submarine
• submerge
• subside
• subterranean
• substitute

Dig deeper

Many other English words contain sub-, but you might not know it at first glance. That’s due to a process called assimilation, which is when a sound becomes the same as or similar to a neighboring sound.

Before sp, sub- becomes su–, as in suspect. Before c, sub- becomes suc–, as in succeed. Sub- becomes suf- before f (suffer), sug- before g (suggest), and sum– before m (summon). And just to be absolutely thorough, sub- becomes sup- before p, as in suppose, and sur- before r, as in surrogate.

Did you know ... ?

The Latin verb mittere shows up in many other English words, such as missile and mission. Without getting too far into the grammar weeds, those double s’s (as opposed to the double t’s we see in mittere) are based on the past participle form of the verb: missus, “(a) sent (thing).” This is why the noun form of submit is submission—and admission for admit, permission for permit, and so on.