commit
Definitions
To carry out a wrong or punishable act
犯（罪、错等）
To pledge or bind oneself to a person, cause, or course of action
承诺，致力于；使投入
To hand over or entrust to someone or something for safekeeping or action
把……交付（给）；提交，托付
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedcom- (together) + mit (send) = "to send/place together, to entrust." The core idea is handing something over completely. That splits two ways: hand a deed over into reality (commit a crime — you put it into the world) and hand yourself over to a path (commit to a plan — no taking it back). Both keep the image of full, irreversible giving-over.
Root miss still carries 88 more wordsWhy It Means This
Commit is the family's biggest semantic jump. From Latin committere "to bring/send together, entrust," English kept the entrusting sense (commit funds to a project) but added two surprising ones. "Commit a crime" works because you give the act over into existence — you make it real. "Commit to something" works because you give yourself over to it. The common thread is total, no-going-back surrender of something — a deed, or yourself.
Common Collocations
- 1.commit a crime犯罪
- 2.commit to致力于
Example Sentences
- 1.
He was accused of committing fraud over several years.
- 2.
She refused to commit to a date for the wedding.
- 3.
The company has committed millions to the new project.
- 4.
Once you commit to a team, you can't quit halfway.
Easily Confused
commit vs. commission: you commit an act (commit a crime, commit to a goal); you commission a piece of work or person (commission a painting, commission an officer). Commit is about doing or pledging; commission is about formally ordering or authorizing.