admit
See also: admît
English
Etymology
From Middle English admitten, amitten, borrowed from Old French admettre, amettre (“to admit”), from Latin admittō (“to allow entrance, inlet”, literally “to send to”), from ad- + mittere (“to send”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ədˈmɪt/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪt
Verb
admit (third-person singular simple present admits, present participle admitting, simple past and past participle admitted)
- (transitive) To allow to enter; to grant entrance (to), whether into a place, into the mind, or into consideration
- A ticket admits one into a playhouse.
- They were admitted into his house.
- to admit a serious thought into the mind
- to admit evidence in the trial of a cause
- (transitive) To allow (someone) to enter a profession or to enjoy a privilege; to recognize as qualified for a franchise.
- to admit an attorney to practice law
- the prisoner was admitted to bail
- (transitive or intransitive) To concede as true; to acknowledge or assent to, as an allegation which it is impossible to deny (+ to).
- the argument or fact is admitted
- he admitted his guilt
- she admitted taking drugs / she admitted to taking drugs
- 2011, Kitty Kelley, Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography, →ISBN:
- His sister, Patti, also admitted taking drugs, […]
- 2023 January 30, “Bangkok police admit to extorting 27,000 baht from Taiwanese actress”, in The Nation, Bangkok: The Nation Multimedia:
- Police officers at a checkpoint in Bangkok's Huay Kwang district admitted to extorting 27,000 baht from a Taiwanese actress […]
- Synonyms: own up, confess
- (transitive) To be capable of; to permit. In this sense, "of" may be used after the verb, or may be omitted.
- the words do not admit such a construction.
- 1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech:
- Four bells admit twenty-four changes in ringing.
- 1761, John Mordant, The Complete Steward:
- There is no tree admits of transplantation so well as the Elm, for a tree of twenty years growth will admit of a remove.
- (intransitive) To give warrant or allowance, to grant opportunity or permission (+ of).
- circumstances do not admit of this
- the text does not admit of this interpretation
- (transitive) To allow to enter a hospital or similar facility for treatment.
- 2011 December 16, Denis Campbell, “Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'”, in Guardian:
- "This shocking report proves once again that we urgently need a radical shake-up of hospital care," said Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society. "Given that people with dementia occupy a quarter of hospital beds and that many leave in worse health than when they were admitted, it is unacceptable that training in dementia care is not the norm."
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Usage notes
In the sense "concede to be true", this is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Synonyms
- (to allow entry to): inlet, let in
- (to recognise as true): acknowledge, own
Derived terms
Derived terms
- admittable
- admittance
- admittedly
- admitter
- admitting
- re-admit
Related terms
- admissible
- admission
- mission
Translations
to allow to enter; to grant entrance
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to allow (one) to enter on an office or to enjoy a privilege
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to concede as true
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to be capable of, to permit
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admit into hospital
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ad.mi/
Audio (CAN) (file)
Verb
admit
- third-person singular past historic of admettre