constitute

verb

con·​sti·​tute ˈkän(t)-stə-ˌtüt 

-ˌtyüt

constituted; constituting

transitive verb

1

: make up, form, compose

12 months constitute a year.

… high school dropouts who constitute a major problem in large city slums.

—J. B. Conant

2

: set up, establish: such as

a

: enact

regulations as are constituted by the government

b

: found

constitute a provisional government

c(1)

: to give due or lawful form to

an agreement constituted by writing

(2)

: to legally process

3

: to appoint to an office, function, or dignity

Legal authority constitutes all magistrates.

Synonyms

• compose
• comprise
• form
• make up

Examples of constitute in a Sentence

Women constitute 70 percent of the student population at the college.

nine players constitute a baseball team

Recent Examples on the Web

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. —Vogue, 27 Nov. 2023

The court also ruled that Wu gathered a crowd to engage in lewd activities and was the ringleader, therefore his behavior constituted the crime of group licentiousness. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 25 Nov. 2023

Epic sued Google in 2020 after a fight over in-app purchase fees, claiming the Android operating system’s Google Play Store constituted an unlawful monopoly — while Google says its demands would damage Android’s ability to offer a secure user experience and compete with Apple’s iOS. —Adi Robertson, The Verge, 20 Nov. 2023

Ukraine’s emergence as a successful and resilient democracy capable of defending itself would constitute a resounding defeat of Russian ambition. —Richard Haass and Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2023

The potential fine, though, constituted less than .002% of the $6.63 billion in profit recorded by Aetna’s parent company, CVS Health, that year. —Maya Miller, ProPublica, 16 Nov. 2023

What’s more, some commenters alleged this act actually does constitute a crime, no matter what the SIL said, calling the incident assault of a minor. —Melissa Willets, Parents, 15 Nov. 2023

Alus constitute at least 13% of the human genome; there were over 300 copies in Totary-Jain’s mega-cluster. —Annie Melchor, Quanta Magazine, 14 Nov. 2023

Six years later, during the next round of fighting between Israel and Hamas, the militants routinely held news conferences on the hospital grounds and used them as a safe meeting place for Hamas officials to speak with journalists, though these activities do not constitute military use. —Vivian Yee, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin constitutus, past participle of constituere to set up, constitute, from com- + statuere to set — more at statute

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

constitute

verb

con·​sti·​tute ˈkän(t)-stə-ˌt(y)üt 

constituted; constituting

1

: to appoint to an office or duty

constituted authorities

2

: set up sense 4, establish

a fund was constituted to help needy students

3

: make up sense 2, form

twelve months constitute a year

Legal Definition

constitute

transitive verb

con·​sti·​tute ˈkän-stə-ˌtüt, -ˌtyüt 

1

: to appoint to an office or function

those who are constituted heirs or named legatees

—Louisiana Civil Code

legal authority constitutes all magistrates

2

: establish, found

to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court

—U.S. Constitution art. I

3

a

: to put (as an agreement) into required form

b

: to qualify as

a letter can constitute a will

—W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al.

failure to act may constitute negligence

c

: to form the substance or whole of

the bonds constituted the entire estate