admit

verb

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ad·mit | \ əd-ˈmit

, ad- \

admitted; admitting

Definition of admit

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to allow scope for : permit admits no possibility of misunderstanding

b : to concede as true or valid admitted making a mistake

2a : to allow entry (as to a place, fellowship, or privilege) an open window had admitted rain admitted to the club

b : to accept into a hospital as an inpatient he was admitted last night for chest pains

intransitive verb

1 : to give entrance or access

2a : allow, permit admits of two interpretations

b : to make acknowledgment —used with to admitted to having doubts

admit

noun

Definition of admit (Entry 2 of 2)

: a person who is admitted into a school, hospital, etc. When a patient is transferred, the nurse will take the next new admit—unless her patient is transferred to a hospital for only a temporary stay.— Sally Seaver

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about admit

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Synonyms & Antonyms for admit

Synonyms: Verb

Antonyms: Verb

deny

Choose the Right Synonym for admit

Verb

acknowledge, admit, own, avow, confess mean to disclose against one's will or inclination. acknowledge implies the disclosing of something that has been or might be concealed. acknowledged an earlier peccadillo admit implies reluctance to disclose, grant, or concede and refers usually to facts rather than their implications. admitted the project was over budget own implies acknowledging something in close relation to oneself. must own I know little about computers avow implies boldly declaring, often in the face of hostility, what one might be expected to be silent about. avowed that he was a revolutionary confess may apply to an admission of a weakness, failure, omission, or guilt. confessed a weakness for sweets

Examples of admit in a Sentence

Verb You know you're wrong! Admit it! I hate to admit it, but he's right. This ticket admits one person. He admitted them into his office. They refused to admit her to the club. The patient was very sick when she was admitted to the hospital. He was admitted last night for chest pains. The judge decided to admit the evidence.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Vrij, Hartwig, and Granhag admit that more subtle nonverbal characteristics—qualities such as subcategories of facial expressions of the sort that Ekman had defined —have either been overlooked or ignored. — Christiane Gelitz, Scientific American, "Humans Are Pretty Lousy Lie Detectors," 9 Feb. 2021 Players admit there’s a learning curve that must be scaled, a mental hurdle that must be cleared, a safety net that must be removed, a freedom that must be unchained, before words become action. — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, "SDSU basketball’s secret sauce: Its ‘next play’ mentality," 30 Dec. 2020 Under a 2002 federal court order, Oregon must admit any defendants within seven days who are deemed unable to aid and assist in their own defense. — oregonlive, "Oregon State Hospital leaders willfully disobeyed court orders, Appeals Court affirms," 30 Dec. 2020 Levine would later admit to committing nearly 100 burglaries in the two communities, according to news reports from the time. — Eileen Kelley, sun-sentinel.com, "He admitted to nearly 100 South Florida burglaries in the 1980s. Now he’s accused in more break-ins.," 24 Dec. 2020 To a friendly audience, Democratic insiders will freely admit that Republicans are terrible. — Alex Pareene, The New Republic, "Jen O’Malley Dillon Fell Into Joe Biden’s Unity Trap," 18 Dec. 2020 However, multiple other hosts on Newsmax did admit the obvious, and pivoted to attack Biden... — Brian Stelter, CNN, "A day of news that captured the best and worst of 2020," 14 Dec. 2020 Even Trump’s critics will admit his administration has been great for space. — Alexander William Salter, National Review, "How Will Joe Biden Handle Outer Space?," 24 Nov. 2020 Even though French people don't want to admit it, this is us. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Lucas Bravo Knows How You Feel About Emily in Paris," 16 Oct. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun And those, like Brantley, who’d as soon endure a week’s worth of sensitivity training as admit to using one of these hyper-trendy ballistic newcomers. — Will Brantley, Field & Stream, "The 6.5 Creedmoor Lover’s (and Hater’s) Gift Guide," 21 Dec. 2020 The agreement requires that ComEd admit wrongdoing, pay a $200 million fine and cooperate with investigators in return for dismissal of the charge later. — Michael Tarm, Star Tribune, "ComEd pleads not guilty in alleged influence-peddling scheme," 5 Aug. 2020 According to the federal government, there have been 368 cases in the past three years, and that is almost certainly an undercount, as even the officials in charge of record keeping admit. — Seth Harp, Harper's Magazine, "In Harm’s Way," 27 Apr. 2020 In general, since the start of coronavirus in the United States, three in four admit to using streaming services more. — Lindsay Kimble, PEOPLE.com, "Parents Allowing Kids to Watch More Movies and TV Shows During Coronavirus Pandemic, Survey Says," 15 Apr. 2020 According to the federal government, there have been 368 cases in the past three years, and that is almost certainly an undercount, as even the officials in charge of record keeping admit. — Seth Harp, Harper's Magazine, "In Harm’s Way," 27 Apr. 2020 Clune told the Wisconsin State Journal that the university’s swift decision to re-admit Cephus may have broken the law. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "After Re-Admitting Quintez Cephus, Wisconsin Could Face a Tough Legal Battle," 7 Sep. 2019 According to the federal government, there have been 368 cases in the past three years, and that is almost certainly an undercount, as even the officials in charge of record keeping admit. — Seth Harp, Harper's Magazine, "In Harm’s Way," 27 Apr. 2020 According to the federal government, there have been 368 cases in the past three years, and that is almost certainly an undercount, as even the officials in charge of record keeping admit. — Seth Harp, Harper's Magazine, "In Harm’s Way," 27 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'admit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for admit

Verb

Middle English admitten, borrowed from Anglo-French admitter, admetter, admettre, borrowed from Latin admittere "to allow entrance or approach," from ad- ad- + mittere "to release, let go, discharge, let fly, throw down, send (for a purpose)," perhaps going back to Indo-European *mei̯th₂- "alternate, exchange, remove" (assuming sense shift "exchange" > "give, bestow" > "let go, send"), from whence, with varying ablaut grades, Sanskrit méthati "treats hostilely, abuses," mitháḥ "mutually, alternately," míthū "in opposed directions, wrongly," Avestan mōiθat̰ "will deprive," hǝ̄m.aibī.mōist "(s/he) joins," West Germanic *meiþ-a- "conceal, avoid" (presumably "remove" > "remove oneself"), whence Old English mīðan "to conceal, dissemble," Old Saxon miđan, Old High German mīdan "to avoid, shy away from, conceal"

Note: See also forms at etymology of mutable descending from a causative derivative *moi̯th₂-. The short vowel and geminate consonant in mittere is usually explained as an instance of the "littera-rule" (or "Iuppiter-rule"), whereby certain pre-Latin diphthongs are resolved as either long vowel + single consonant or short vowel + geminate consonant; in most such cases examples of both alternates are attested, though in this instance no attestation of mīt- is known.

Noun

derivative of admit entry 1

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