admitverb
uk/ədˈmɪt/us/ədˈmɪt/-tt-admit verb (ACCEPT)
B1 [ T or I ] to agree that something is true, especially unwillingly:
He admitted his guilt/mistake.
[ + (that) ] She admitted (that) she had made a mistake.
[ + -ing verb ] She admitted making a mistake.
At first he denied stealing the money but he later admitted (to) it.
I wasn't entirely honest with him, I admit.
[ + to infinitive ] The new law was generally admitted to be difficult to enforce.
admit defeat
to accept that you have failed and give up:
After several attempts to untie the knot, I admitted defeat and cut through it with a knife.
More examples
- I was too embarrassed to admit that I was scared.
- He was ashamed to admit to his mistake.
- She grudgingly admitted that she had been wrong to criticize him.
- The gang admitted they had committed four recent bank robberies.
- It may be that the ministers know more than they are admitting at the moment.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Admitting & confessing
- acknowledge
- acknowledgment
- admittedly
- avow
- back down
- climb
- come clean idiom
- concessionary
- deny
- eat
- eat your words idiom
- hand
- I stand corrected idiom
- make a clean breast of it idiom
- own up
- retract
- say
- self-confessed
- swallow
- take sth back
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Losing and being defeated
admit verb (ALLOW IN)
[ T ] to allow someone to enter a place:
Each ticket admits one member and one guest.
Men will not be admitted to the restaurant without a tie.
literary A gap between the curtains admitted the faint glimmer of a street lamp.
[ T ] to allow a person or country to join an organization:
Spain was admitted to the European Community in 1986.
[ T ] to allow someone to enter a hospital because they need medical care:
UK She was admitted to hospital suffering from shock.
US She was admitted to the hospital suffering from shock.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Allowing and permitting
- admit of sth
- allow
- allow of sth
- allowable
- authorization
- authorize
- concession
- green
- leave
- let
- let sb/sth in
- let sb/sth out
- licence
- license
- mandate
- OK
- open the floodgates idiom
- sanction
- submit
- unlicensed
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Phrasal verb(s)
admit of sth