admitad‧mit /ədˈmɪt/ ●●● S2 W1 verb (past tense and past participle admitted, present participle admitting) 
‘Okay, so maybe I was a little bit scared,’ Jenny admitted.admit (that) You may not like her, but you have to admit that she’s good at her job.admit to somebody (that) Paul admitted to me that he sometimes feels jealous of my friendship with Stanley. I must admit, I didn’t actually do anything to help her. Admit it! I’m right, aren’t I?admit (to) doing something Dana admitted feeling hurt by what I had said.freely/openly/frankly etc admit (=admit without being ashamed) Phillips openly admits to having an alcohol problem.2accept blame [intransitive, transitive] to say that you have done something wrong, especially something criminal SYN confess OPP denyadmit doing something Greene admitted causing death by reckless driving.admit to (doing) something A quarter of all workers admit to taking time off when they are not ill. After questioning, he admitted to the murder. No organization has admitted responsibility for the bombing.► see thesaurus at admit3allow to enter [transitive] to allow someone to enter a public place to watch a game, performance etcadmit somebody to/into something Only ticket-holders will be admitted into the stadium.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say let someone in rather than admit someone:· They won’t let you in without a ticket.4allow to join [transitive] to allow someone to join an organization, club etcadmit somebody to/into something Drake was admitted into the club in 1997.5hospital [transitive] if people at a hospital admit someone, that person is taken in to be given treatment, tests, or care: What time was she admitted?be admitted to hospital British English, be admitted to the hospital American English6admit defeat to stop trying to do something because you realize you cannot succeed: For Haskill, selling the restaurant would be admitting defeat.7admit evidence to allow a particular piece of evidence to be used in a court of law: Courts can refuse to admit evidence obtained illegally by police.admit of something phrasal verb formal if a situation admits of a particular explanation, that explanation can be accepted as possible: The facts admit of no other explanation.GRAMMAR: Comparisonadmit• You admit that you did something: · He admitted that he had made a mistake.• You admit to someone that you did something: · He admitted to me that he had made a mistake. ✗Don’t say: He admitted me that he had made a mistake.• You admit doing something: · He admitted making a mistake. ✗Don’t say: He admitted to make a mistake.confess• You confess that you did something: · He confessed that he had stolen the money.• You confess to someone that you did something: · He confessed to the police that he had stolen the money.COLLOCATIONSverbsrefuse to admit something· He refused to admit that it was his fault.be forced to admit something· The government was forced to admit that the policy had never really worked.somebody has to admit something· In the end, he had to admit I was right.adverbsfreely/readily/openly admit something (=admit without being ashamed)· I freely admit I’m hopeless at maths.grudgingly/reluctantly admit something (=admit something when you do not want to)· He grudgingly admitted that I was a better swimmer than him.phrasesbe willing/prepared/happy/ready to admit something· She was willing to admit that she’d made a mistake.be ashamed/loath to admit something· He was ashamed to admit that he had lied to her.I must admit something (=used when saying that you admit that something is true)· I must admit I hate camping.I hate to admit it but …· I hate to admit it but it looks like we’ve failed.be the first to admit something· I know I’m lazy – I’m the first to admit it!I don’t mind admitting something· I’m scared and I don’t mind admitting it.THESAURUSadmit something is trueadmit to agree unwillingly that something is true: · He admitted that the company was having financial difficulties.· I must admit I was disappointed by their reaction.concede formal to admit something in a discussion or argument: · ‘You may be right,’ Bridget conceded.· It was a decision which he now concedes was incorrect.acknowledge /əkˈnɒlɪdʒ/ formal to say that something is true or that a situation exists: · The report acknowledges that research on animals is not always a reliable guide when it comes to humans.· They do not want to acknowledge the fact that things have changed.confess to admit something that you feel embarrassed or ashamed about: · Bradley confessed that he struggled to finish the race.· I must confess I don’t like his wife at all.Granted/I grant you formal spoken used when admitting that something is true, although you do not think it makes much difference to the main point. Granted is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, or on its own: · She has a lot of experience, I grant you, but she’s not good at managing people.· Granted he did play well in the last game, but generally his form hasn't been very good recently.admit you have done something wrongadmit to say that you have done something wrong, especially something criminal: · He admitted charges of theft and false accounting.· Bennett admitted killing his wife.confess to tell the police or someone in authority that you have done something bad, especially when they have persuaded you to do this: · He finally confessed that he had stolen the money.· They told him that if he confessed he would get a lighter sentence.own up to admit that you have done something wrong, usually something that is not very serious. Own up is more informal than admit or confess: · He owned up to the mistake straight away.fess up informal to admit that you have done something wrong that is not very serious: · Come on, fess up! Where were you last night?come clean informal to finally admit something bad that you have been trying to hide: · They want the government to come clean on where all the money has gone.
WORD ORIGINadmit
Origin:
1300-1400 Latin admittere, from ad- ‘to’ + mittere ‘to send’VERB TABLE
admit
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | admit |
| he, she, it | admits | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | admitted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have admitted |
| he, she, it | has admitted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had admitted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will admit |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have admitted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am admitting |
| he, she, it | is admitting | |
| you, we, they | are admitting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was admitting |
| you, we, they | were admitting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been admitting |
| he, she, it | has been admitting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been admitting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be admitting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been admitting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "Well, I suppose there is some truth in what you say," she admitted.
- Admit it! You lied to me!
- Blake finally admitted he had stolen the money.
- Children under 17 will not be admitted.
- He admits to stealing the car.
- In the end he had to admit that I was right.
- In the past, some countries refused to admit travelers who had South African visas.
- Maggie asked the nurses to find a doctor who would admit Roy, but they didn't call anyone.
- Rachel admitted that she had made a mistake.
- Richard Maldonado admitted accepting bribes.
- The hospital refused to admit liability for the deaths of the two young children.
- They refused to admit Paul to the performance because of what he was wearing.
- You may not like her, but you have to admit that she's good at her job.
- You were wrong, weren't you? Come on, admit it!
- After the death of Asbury, the Methodists in 1816 adopted a report that admitted they were powerless to abolish the evil.
- Characteristic is a reluctance to admit the quantity consumed, drinking secretly alone, and taking gradually increasing amounts.
- I will accept your tequila, but not until after you have admitted your wrongs.
- I would have admitted to murder to keep her out of it.
- There I was admitted by the butler, of all people.
- Tickets are $ 10, available at the door, with children under age 12 not admitted.
THESAURUSadmit something is true
to agree unwillingly that something is true: · He admitted that the company was having financial difficulties.· I must admit I was disappointed by their reaction.
formal to admit something in a discussion or argument: · ‘You may be right,’ Bridget conceded.· It was a decision which he now concedes was incorrect.
formal to say that something is true or that a situation exists: · The report acknowledges that research on animals is not always a reliable guide when it comes to humans.· They do not want to acknowledge the fact that things have changed.
to admit something that you feel embarrassed or ashamed about: · Bradley confessed that he struggled to finish the race.· I must confess I don’t like his wife at all.
formal spoken used when admitting that something is true, although you do not think it makes much difference to the main point. Granted is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, or on its own: · She has a lot of experience, I grant you, but she’s not good at managing people.· Granted he did play well in the last game, but generally his form hasn't been very good recently.
admit you have done something wrong to say that you have done something wrong, especially something criminal: · He admitted charges of theft and false accounting.· Bennett admitted killing his wife.
to tell the police or someone in authority that you have done something bad, especially when they have persuaded you to do this: · He finally confessed that he had stolen the money.· They told him that if he confessed he would get a lighter sentence.
to admit that you have done something wrong, usually something that is not very serious. Own up is more informal than admit or confess: · He owned up to the mistake straight away.
informal to admit that you have done something wrong that is not very serious: · Come on, fess up! Where were you last night?
informal to finally admit something bad that you have been trying to hide: · They want the government to come clean on where all the money has gone.
Longman Language Activatorto admit that you have done something wrong or illegal to say that you have done something wrong or illegal, especially when someone asks or persuades you to do this: admit (that): · Rachel admitted that she had made a mistake.· Blake finally admitted he had stolen the money.admit (to) doing something: · Richard Maldonado admitted accepting bribes.· He admits to stealing the car.admit it spoken: · Admit it! You lied to me!admit responsibility/liability/negligence (=admit publicly that something is legally your fault): · The hospital refused to admit liability for the deaths of the two young children.
to tell the police or someone in a position of authority that you have done something very bad, especially after they have persuaded you to do this: · After two days of questioning, he finally confessed.confess (that): · She confessed that she had killed her husband.confess to a crime/robbery/murder etc: · McCarthy confessed to the crime shortly after his arrest.confess to doing something: · Edwards eventually confessed to being a spy.
to admit that you have done something wrong, especially something that is not serious. Own up is more informal than admit or confess: · Unless the guilty person owns up, the whole class will be punished.own up to (doing) something: · No one owned up to breaking the window.· I made a few mistakes, but I owned up to them.
informal to finally tell the truth or admit that you have done something wrong: · The bank eventually came clean and admitted they had made a mistake.come clean about: · It's time the government came clean about its plans to raise income tax.
especially American, informal to admit that you have done something wrong, but not something that is very serious: · Come on, fess up - you must have been the one who told her because no-one else knew!· If none of you guys fesses up, you're all grounded for a week.
a statement admitting that you have done something wrong an official statement that someone makes to the police, admitting that they have done something illegal and explaining what happened: · Sergeant Thompson wrote down Smith's confession and asked him to sign it.make a confession: · In a confession made to police shortly after his arrest, Davis said he had killed the victim with a kitchen knife. full confession: · By making a full confession, Reeves hoped he would be more kindly treated by the authorities.
when you admit that you were wrong or that you have done something bad or illegal: admission (that): · The Senator's admission that he had lied to Congress shocked many Americans.What an admission (to make)!: · You only married him for his money? What an admission!admission of guilt (=when you admit that you are guilty): · The court may assume that your silence is an admission of guilt.
to admit something that you feel embarrassed or ashamed about · "I've always hated flying," Lisa confessed.admit/confess (that) · She admits that she occasionally bets on horses.· Dave confessed he didn't visit his parents as often as he should.admit/confess (to) doing something · Monica admitted playing rather badly in her last match. · He confesses to being afraid of the dark.I must admit/confess (=say this when you do not know something or cannot do something ) · I must admit I was never very good at dancing.· I don't really like kids, I must confess.
say this when you admit something that other people might disagree with or disapprove of: · "What do you think of John?" "To be honest, I don't like him at all."· To tell the truth, I wasn't really listening to what everyone was saying.· To be perfectly honest, I don't think she should have married him.
to admit that something is true also concede formal to accept that something is true, especially when you do not want to: · "Well, I suppose there is some truth in what you say," she admitted.admit (that): · In the end he had to admit that I was right.· You may not like her, but you have to admit that she's good at her job.· Jackson conceded that higher taxes on big cars would have a harmful effect on the UK's motor industry.· Janis was forced to concede that much of her argument was based on prejudice.admit it spoken: · You were wrong, weren't you? Come on, admit it!
formal to admit that something is true or that a situation exists, even though you may not like it, it is not completely satisfactory, may be a problem etc: · You have to acknowledge the truth of what she says.acknowledge (that): · He acknowledges it's going to be a tough job, but he's going to try it anyway.· The committee acknowledges that mentally ill people in the community are not receiving the care and treatment they need.
what you say when you admit that something is true say this when you admit that what someone has said is true, but you want to add something new or different that is also important: · Of course it's true that a lot of men like beer and football, but this doesn't mean that they all do. · It's true that there have been some very serious train accidents recently, but it's generally quite a safe way to travel.
· Admittedly I didn't get as much work done as I'd hoped this morning, but it should be finished soon. · Yes, I have studied Japanese - though not for long, admittedly.
what you say when you think someone should admit something say this when you want other people to admit that something, especially an unpleasant fact, is true: · Let's face it, the England team are not good enough to beat Holland.· People are basically selfish, let's face it.
say this when you want other people to admit that something, especially an unpleasant fact, is true and that it cannot be changed : there's no getting around it: · There's no getting around it - we'll have to start again from the beginning.there's no getting around the fact that: · There's no getting around the fact that most people prefer to travel to work in their own cars, rather than by bus or train.
say this when you want other people to admit that something, especially an unpleasant fact, is true and that it cannot be changed : · We cannot escape the fact that Mr. Mireki's death arose from a job-related activity.· You can't escape the fact that we all have to die some day.
to admit that what you said or believed was wrong to say that a criticism you previously made was wrong: take back something: · I take back everything I said.take something back: · "You will take that remark back and apologize immediately!" he roared.take it back: · She had no right to talk to you like that. You should go in there and make her take it all back.
British if one side in an argument climbs down, they agree to accept the other side's demands, especially after admitting that they were wrong: · Neither side in the dispute has been willing to climb down.· European Court decisions have forced several employers to climb down and change their policy on women's pay.
informal to be forced to admit that you were wrong because what you said would happen did not in fact happen: · I never thought Clare would be any good at this job, but I've had to eat my words.make somebody eat their words: · When Tottenham went to the top of the league early in the season, people said it wouldn't last. They have had to eat their words.
informal also eat crow American informal to be forced to admit that you were wrong and say that you are sorry: · Taylor's victory in the semi-final has forced many of her critics to eat humble pie.· Martinez had to eat crow when he bragged that the Red Sox would win the division and they came in last.
to let someone enter a place · Let me in! It's freezing out here.· There's Ryan at the door. Let him in, would you?· Who let those guys in? They don't belong here.· Don't let anybody in the house while I'm gone.let somebody into something · His girlfriend was there and let me into the apartment.
to officially allow someone to enter a public place in order to watch a game, performance etc: · Children under 17 will not be admitted.admit somebody to something: · They refused to admit Paul to the performance because of what he was wearing.
to stop trying to win to stop playing, fighting, or trying to succeed because you know you will lose, especially after you have struggled to succeed for a long time: · The four climbers were eventually forced to admit defeat when weather conditions made it impossible to continue.· She simply refuses to accept defeat, no matter how bad things seem.
to stop playing, fighting, arguing etc because you know that you are not good enough to win: · Marie's stubborn, and she doesn't give in easily.give in to: · I figured if we gave in to them this time, they'd be back for another fight. · In the end, I had to give in to dad -- he's usually right anyway.
to officially say that you want to stop fighting in a war because you realize that you cannot win: · Finally, on April 16th, the enemy surrendered.surrender to: · 19 rebels hiding in the Czech embassy surrendered to the authorities.
to admit that you are not going to win a battle, argument, or game because you are not strong enough or good enough to win: · Eventually, the chairman was forced to concede and announce his resignation.· "Sam, you have to apologise to her" -- "I know," Sam conceded grudgingly.concede defeat (=admit you are defeated): · Matthew kept on arguing his point, unwilling to concede defeat.concede that: · Environmentalists concede that it will not be easy to persuade car drivers to use their vehicles less often.concede to: · We both had a point, but neither of us would concede to the other.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYverbs Nicholas frankly admitted that the report was a pack of lies.
· He refused to admit that it was his fault.
· The government was forced to admit that the policy had never really worked.
· In the end, he had to admit I was right.
adverbs (=admit without being ashamed)· I freely admit I’m hopeless at maths.
(=admit something when you do not want to)· He grudgingly admitted that I was a better swimmer than him.
phrases· She was willing to admit that she’d made a mistake.
· He was ashamed to admit that he had lied to her.
(=used when saying that you admit that something is true)· I must admit I hate camping.
· I hate to admit it but it looks like we’ve failed.
· I know I’m lazy – I’m the first to admit it!
· I’m scared and I don’t mind admitting it.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· All three men denied the charge of manslaughter.
· If I left my job, I would be admitting defeat.
· He was too proud to admit failure.
Nicholas frankly admitted that the report was a pack of lies. British English, be admitted to the hospital American English· He was admitted to hospital suffering from chest pain.
· The company accepts no liability for any loss, inconvenience, or delay caused by a cancellation of train services.
· It is better to admit your mistake and apologize.
· He had admitted sex offences against children.
· This examination should be done when the patient is admitted to hospital.
· Our pride kept us from admitting the truth.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· She freely admitted although only to herself that this was because Maxim would be there.· This he freely admitted, although, even so, neither he nor Mama would ever reveal what his real name was.· She freely admitted that when she was shoplifting she was, in a way, hoping to go to prison.· Vaught freely admitted that he is a follower.· But Moore freely admits he has no stomach for the stunts.· Manager Graham freely admits he could never have imagined this threesome getting just one goal between them from six games.· I freely admit that things have changed since, but that was part of the argument.· Now he freely admits to being gay and to having had a stable, loving relationship with another man.
· But that he would deliberately attempt to break that link was something that he would never admit, even to himself.· He would never admit to himself that this was because Jeopardy seemed beyond him.· Symington and our Legislature have never admitted that Arizona school financing is unfair.· Girls in her village don't eat in front of strangers, and never admit to being hungry.· She never admitted that Edwin was an alcoholic, never talked about the pain and suffering his drinking had caused the family.· Never mind he can't string two sentences together - he'd never admit that.· Thus associative adjectives should never admit an intensifying adverb.
· The report openly admits that this is the most ambitious assessment scheme ever attempted in the world.· Later in the war, they openly admitted that perimeters were used as bait.· Gates openly admits his biases, or opinions.
· After all, Levi admits to more than a passing interest in things financial, shall we say.· It's not a view I can admit to officially.· All I could admit to was boredom, and the belief that school was more fun.· Each cohort of students will be admitted to only one institution and will normally remain registered with that institution until graduation.· Yet there is another failure which we less readily admit to.
NOUN· All three had admitted burglary and related charges.· Often, in panic, the accused will admit to the lesser charge without a trial.· She admitted four charges of making a false representation to obtain benefit and asked for 18 others to be taken into consideration.· Mr Honour consented to the fine without admitting or denying the charges.· He also admitted other charges of dishonestly handling a stolen ring and theft of a car.· Gingrich admitted to charges, brought by an investigative subcommittee of the ethics committee, that he brought discredit to the House.· The six have admitted the charges, committed at a rented factory in Burn Road, Hartlepool.· In recent weeks, three others in the scam admitted to charges of money laundering and wire fraud.
· We take the view that the judge was right to admit the evidence.· It must be remembered, however, that the Order only permits the court to admit hearsay evidence.· They admitted manslaughter and gave evidence against Allen.· Ridgeway strongly resisted freeing the men, though he admitted that the evidence placed before the court had not demonstrated their guilt.· It seemed so incredible that his mind failed to admit the evidence of his ears and eyes.· The decision whether to admit or exclude evidence lay with the court of trial.
· She was admitted to hospital on 21 January because of a productive cough and mild dyspnoea which had appeared four days earlier.· One weekend in mid-July seven new patients were admitted, bringing the hospital total to twenty-nine.· She was admitted to hospital and the baby was induced because the doctors feared both Esther and the baby were in danger.· Parker, 87, had been admitted to Valley Hospital on Monday.· She was admitted to a London hospital on 10 October 1992 with ruptured membranes and in spontaneous labour.· Since 1990, Bradley said two children besides Jessica have been admitted to the hospital with severe streptococcal toxic shock.· It is also possible for patients to be admitted directly to general hospitals and never to psychiatric hospital.· His wife had been admitted to hospital for observation, and then evacuated to a hospital in Shropshire when war was declared.
· The company has since admitted this was a mistake.· There appeared to be real individual differences in the managers willingness to admit mistakes and ask for help.· Mr Irving admitted making mistakes, but said these were made innocently.· Rcagan had no choice but to withdraw the Marines, and in effect admit a terrible mistake.· I admit that was a mistake.· My motto: Be up front and admit mistakes and bad decisions.· He makes little humorous concessive noises in his throat, to admit his mistake.· Later, he swore out an affidavit admitting his own mistake and praising the accuracy of the timekeeper.
· Physicians are more likely to admit old patients than young patients for any given severity of illness.· Eventually he was admitted as a voluntary patient to Napsbury Hospital, where he was diagnosed as schizophrenic.· All four physicians admit elderly patients into the district hospital's general medical beds.· Another possible contributory factor is the increasing difficulty in admitting acutely ill patients.
VERB· Freire has been forced to admit that his practice can only really work if other conditions are also present.· As he reads over the results, he is forced to admit that everything seems accurate.· The surgeon was forced to admit that this operation would leave Dawn paralysed and wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life.· I was forced to admit we were related and that Alistair was staying with us.· Now he was forced to admit he had been wrong.· I was forced to admit that put that way, it did sound rather absurd.· And, I was forced to admit, both times it was the correct policy for them.· The college, forced to admit women by the U.S.
· Linkworth refused to admit his guilt.· She refuses to admit that she is the daughter for fear of disgracing her parents.· The Chief Inspector refused to apologise or admit any responsibility for the deaths.· First, you refused to admit that there was a menace at all!· But the Palace has always refused to admit it until yesterday.· He, however, refused to admit his personal responsibility.· Hating himself for that snobbery, he drove the boy harder, refusing to admit to himself that he was failing.· Union meetings were often held in a restaurant that frequently refused to admit blacks, the suit said.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► admit evidencePHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► freely admit/acknowledge something► I don’t mind admitting/telling you/saying etc
1accept truth [intransitive, transitive] to agree unwillingly that something is true or that someone else is right: - Haskill refuses to admit defeat and sell the restaurant.
- After half an hour she had to admit defeat.
- He came wandering towards me, obviously having admitted defeat, and I fell in beside him, companionably in step.
- He had already summed her up as some one who hated to admit defeat.
- He loathed the boot and complained about it constantly, but he wouldn't admit defeat.
- Leafy and Obey stayed away for close to an hour, returning at last after midnight to admit defeat.
- The Novartis team put up a valiant fight, but admit defeat.
- To leave was to admit defeat in this peculiar ritual of making myself known.
- I have to say I don't know anything about computers.
- At this point I have to say he was, from an early age, exceedingly theatrical.
- He did not, I have to say, look at all pleased.
- He looked, I have to say, absolutely great.
- I am rather shaken, I have to confess.
- I shall say yes, she was thinking. I have to say yes.
- If you find that what I have to say about the specialisation is difficult, don't worry.
- Looking through Woodworker I have to say that many of the chairs are anything but comfortable!
- None of us slept very easily, I have to say.
- At this point I must say that I haven't yet found a carp that didn't eat Tropicanas.
- But I must say I was deeply disappointed.
- But I must say she's not always as fractious as she appears now.
- He went very red in the face. I must say he never did it again.
- Lovely site for it, I must say.
- Some one must have brought it here for a purpose, but I must admit it looks abandoned.
- They were very polite, I must confess....
- This procedure is, I must admit, a limited one, and it is vulnerable to criticism.
‘Okay, so maybe I was a little bit scared,’ Jenny admitted.admit (that) You may not like her, but you have to admit that she’s good at her job.admit to somebody (that) Paul admitted to me that he sometimes feels jealous of my friendship with Stanley. I must admit, I didn’t actually do anything to help her. Admit it! I’m right, aren’t I?admit (to) doing something Dana admitted feeling hurt by what I had said.freely/openly/frankly etc admit (=admit without being ashamed) Phillips openly admits to having an alcohol problem.2accept blame [intransitive, transitive] to say that you have done something wrong, especially something criminal SYN confess OPP denyadmit doing something Greene admitted causing death by reckless driving.admit to (doing) something A quarter of all workers admit to taking time off when they are not ill. After questioning, he admitted to the murder. No organization has admitted responsibility for the bombing.► see thesaurus at admit3allow to enter [transitive] to allow someone to enter a public place to watch a game, performance etcadmit somebody to/into something Only ticket-holders will be admitted into the stadium.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say let someone in rather than admit someone:· They won’t let you in without a ticket.4allow to join [transitive] to allow someone to join an organization, club etcadmit somebody to/into something Drake was admitted into the club in 1997.5hospital [transitive] if people at a hospital admit someone, that person is taken in to be given treatment, tests, or care: What time was she admitted?be admitted to hospital British English, be admitted to the hospital American English6admit defeat to stop trying to do something because you realize you cannot succeed: For Haskill, selling the restaurant would be admitting defeat.7admit evidence to allow a particular piece of evidence to be used in a court of law: Courts can refuse to admit evidence obtained illegally by police.admit of something phrasal verb formal if a situation admits of a particular explanation, that explanation can be accepted as possible: The facts admit of no other explanation.GRAMMAR: Comparisonadmit• You admit that you did something: · He admitted that he had made a mistake.• You admit to someone that you did something: · He admitted to me that he had made a mistake. ✗Don’t say: He admitted me that he had made a mistake.• You admit doing something: · He admitted making a mistake. ✗Don’t say: He admitted to make a mistake.confess• You confess that you did something: · He confessed that he had stolen the money.• You confess to someone that you did something: · He confessed to the police that he had stolen the money.COLLOCATIONSverbsrefuse to admit something· He refused to admit that it was his fault.be forced to admit something· The government was forced to admit that the policy had never really worked.somebody has to admit something· In the end, he had to admit I was right.adverbsfreely/readily/openly admit something (=admit without being ashamed)· I freely admit I’m hopeless at maths.grudgingly/reluctantly admit something (=admit something when you do not want to)· He grudgingly admitted that I was a better swimmer than him.phrasesbe willing/prepared/happy/ready to admit something· She was willing to admit that she’d made a mistake.be ashamed/loath to admit something· He was ashamed to admit that he had lied to her.I must admit something (=used when saying that you admit that something is true)· I must admit I hate camping.I hate to admit it but …· I hate to admit it but it looks like we’ve failed.be the first to admit something· I know I’m lazy – I’m the first to admit it!I don’t mind admitting something· I’m scared and I don’t mind admitting it.THESAURUSadmit something is trueadmit to agree unwillingly that something is true: · He admitted that the company was having financial difficulties.· I must admit I was disappointed by their reaction.concede formal to admit something in a discussion or argument: · ‘You may be right,’ Bridget conceded.· It was a decision which he now concedes was incorrect.acknowledge /əkˈnɒlɪdʒ/ formal to say that something is true or that a situation exists: · The report acknowledges that research on animals is not always a reliable guide when it comes to humans.· They do not want to acknowledge the fact that things have changed.confess to admit something that you feel embarrassed or ashamed about: · Bradley confessed that he struggled to finish the race.· I must confess I don’t like his wife at all.Granted/I grant you formal spoken used when admitting that something is true, although you do not think it makes much difference to the main point. Granted is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, or on its own: · She has a lot of experience, I grant you, but she’s not good at managing people.· Granted he did play well in the last game, but generally his form hasn't been very good recently.admit you have done something wrongadmit to say that you have done something wrong, especially something criminal: · He admitted charges of theft and false accounting.· Bennett admitted killing his wife.confess to tell the police or someone in authority that you have done something bad, especially when they have persuaded you to do this: · He finally confessed that he had stolen the money.· They told him that if he confessed he would get a lighter sentence.own up to admit that you have done something wrong, usually something that is not very serious. Own up is more informal than admit or confess: · He owned up to the mistake straight away.fess up informal to admit that you have done something wrong that is not very serious: · Come on, fess up! Where were you last night?come clean informal to finally admit something bad that you have been trying to hide: · They want the government to come clean on where all the money has gone.- Mephistopheles
- Merc
- mercantile
- Mercator projection
- Mercedes
- mercenary
- mercerized cotton
- merch
- merchandise
- merchandising
- merchant
- merchantable
- merchant bank
- merchant banker
- Merchant-Ivory
- merchantman
- merchant navy
- Merchant of Venice, The
- merchant seaman
- merciful
- mercifully
- merciless
- mercilessly
- Mercosur
- mercurial