admit
Americanverb (used with object)
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to allow to enter; grant or afford entrance to.
to admit a student to college.
- Synonyms:
- receive
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to give right or means of entrance to.
This ticket admits two people.
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to register (a person) as an inpatient at a hospital.
After seeing the test results, the emergency room doctor admitted her and put her on intravenous fluids.
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to permit to exercise a certain function or privilege.
admitted to the bar.
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to permit; allow.
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to allow or concede as valid.
to admit the force of an argument.
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to acknowledge; confess.
He admitted his guilt.
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to grant in argument; concede.
The fact is admitted.
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to have capacity for.
This passage admits two abreast.
verb (used without object)
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to permit entrance; give access.
This door admits to the garden.
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to permit the possibility of something; allow (usually followed byof ).
The contract admits of no other interpretation.
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to confess or acknowledge (a crime, mistake, etc)
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(may take a clause as object) to concede (the truth or validity of something)
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to allow to enter; let in
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(foll by to) to allow participation (in) or the right to be part (of)
to admit to the profession
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to allow (of); leave room (for)
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(intr) to give access
the door admits onto the lawn
Synonym Usage
See acknowledge.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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admittableadjective
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readmitverb
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admitternoun
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preadmitverb (used with object)
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admittibleadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has admittedperfect 3rd person singular
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have admittedperfect
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am admittingprogressive 1st person singular
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admittingparticiple
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has been admittingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are admittingprogressive
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admitssingular 3rd person
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have been admittingperfect progressive
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is admittingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had admittedperfect
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were admittingprogressive plural
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admittedparticiple
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admittedsimple
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had been admittingperfect progressive
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was admittingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of admit
First recorded in 1375–1425; from Latin admittere, from ad- ad- + mittere “to send, let go”; replacing late Middle English amitte, with a- a- 5 instead of ad-, from Middle French amettre, from Latin, as above
Explanation
When you admit something, you confess that it happened. It wasn't easy to admit that you'd broken the vase, but how else could you explain that your hand was glued to it? Besides meaning "confess," admit can also mean "let in," like a theater ticket that says "ADMIT ONE." If you admit that you have a bag of popcorn hidden in your backpack, you might not be admitted to the movie. A doorway admits you into a room, and if a room can hold up to 50 people, that room admits 50. You can even use admit for metaphorical entrances, like the way your wild style admits you into high fashion circles.
Vocabulary lists containing admit
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They admit that base rates “can change as the world changes.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
I admit that Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel is a radioactive choice for a best-of list.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
The day before, Panish had hammered the surgeon on the witness stand, asking: “Do you admit your wife killed the two kids? Do you admit it? Yes or no?”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
In a way, Russell's decision to finally admit he is struggling might be a good thing.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
“I might train for it, too,” I admit.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
