verb
commit
To carry out a wrongful or harmful act.
People who commit fraud often hide their actions behind false records.
Etymology
Latin committere could mean to perpetrate as well as to entrust. This use preserves the doing sense, particularly for an act that makes its performer responsible for wrongdoing.
More examples
- Anyone who commits a crime may face prosecution.
- She committed a serious error by ignoring the safety warning.
- The witness admits committing perjury during the trial.
Forms
commit · commits · committed · committing
Similar words
- perpetrate
- More formal; typically emphasizes a deliberate crime or wrongdoing.
- do
- Broader and less formal; does not itself suggest wrongdoing.