commit
这个动词属表示瞬时动作的第四类，意义比较复杂微妙，中文很难找到与之一对一的对称。总的来说，它包含有“使承担义务”或“使遭到某一重大行动的影响”的概括意义，但是派生出很多复杂的具体释义。
（1）作为及物动词，比较简单明了的一个释义，就是“犯（某罪行）”。【例如】commit murder犯杀人罪 / commit adultery通奸/ commit blasphemy犯亵渎罪 / About 17 percent of all crime in 1938 was committed by people under 21. 1938年全部犯罪案大约有百分之十七是未满二十一岁的人犯的。但是也可以指犯的不是罪行而只是错误或不当。【例如】commit a stupid blunder犯一个愚蠢的错误 / commit needless errors犯不必要的
失误。其中一个较为特别的用法是commit suicide自杀。
（2）作为及物动词，较为捉摸不定的另一个释义，就是“交付”、“付之”（后有to
介词短语）（体味其含义，可以参考中文的“付诸流水”、“付诸实施”、“付之一炬”、“付之一笑”、“付梓”、“付邮”等用语），而宾语所代表的事物，总是要遭受到某种决定性重大行动的影响。【例如】She committed all the letters to the flames. 她把所有信件付诸一炬。/ You'll need these figures so often that you must commit them to memory. 这些数字你是会常常用上的，所以你应该记住（付诸记忆）。/ He committed his troubles to oblivion. 他把自己的麻烦置诸脑后（付诸遗忘）。/ He held his tongue and committed his thoughts to paper only. 他一言不发，有什么想法都只是写在纸上（付诸笔墨）。/ He was loath to commit sensitive information to paper.他很不喜欢把敏感信息付诸笔墨。/ ... Maria would commit the list to the official page in clean, precise writing. (The
New York Times, Sept. 30, 2007) …
玛利亚就会把这个表格用清晰准确的字体写进正式的填写单上。/ He was committed to trial. 他被交付审判。/ They committed him to prison. 他们把他关进监狱里。/ He's been committed to a private psychiatric hospital in Newark. 他已经被送到了
纽瓦克的一所私人精神病院。/ ... we therefore commit his body to the ground: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. (Book of Common Prayer) …我们就此将他的身躯归还大地：泥土归泥土，灰烬归灰烬，尘埃归尘埃（尘归尘，土归土）。/ His body was committed to the waves. 他的遗体在海上水葬了。
（3）与此相类似的一个释义，是“将（某人或某事物）交托（另一人）负责（正面的）照料或（负面的）处理”。【例如】commit the management of an estate to an agent委托一个代理人管理产业。/ ... on landing in Boston in 1872, my father and I were able safely to commit our trunk to the expressman. (Santayana) 1872年在
波士顿上岸时，我父亲和我把行李箱安全交托给了运送员。/ ... into thy hand I commit my spirit. （Psalm 31:5 ）…我将我的灵魂交在你手里。/ She committed her son to the tutor's care. 她把儿子交托给
家庭教师照料。
（4）与此相类似的另一个释义，就是直接宾语代表某人，commit是使该人承担某责任、义务或任务（to something）。【例如】One of the strengths of church wedding is that it commits two whole families to the support of the marriage. 在教堂举行婚礼的一个好处，就是使得双方全体家人都表态支持这门亲事。/ That would commit us to the purchase. 这样做，我们就会有义务非买不可。/ The pact commits both nations to mutual assistance. 根据协定，两国有互助的义务。To commit oneself to something指自己承担某种责任或义务。【例如】I can't commit myself to that. 我不能承诺这样做。/ The candidate has not committed himself on this question. 候选人没有就这个问题表明态度。/ They want to experiment with computers without committing themselves to any capital expenditure. 他们想用电脑进行试验，而又不承担任何投资支出。/ She had committed herself to helping him. 她已经承担了帮助他的义务。/ Lisa and Bruce had committed themselves to summer jobs away from home. 里萨和布鲁斯已经安排了暑期离家干一些活。如果不说to something，单说commit oneself，则意思是“表态”以及随之而来的“承担义务”。【例如】He wouldn't commit himself. 他不愿意表态。（可以参考形容词noncommittal“不置可否”。）
（5）如果直接宾语所代表的不是人而是资源或力量，commit something to something就是“将（某物）用于（某事）”的意思。【例如】to commit troops to Afghanistan派兵前往阿富汗 / The company must commit its entire resources to the project. 该公司必须将全部资金投入这个项目中去。/ We're committing our blood to the battlefield. 我们正在把自己的鲜血投入战场。/ We committed years and resources to this cause. 我们为了这个事业投入了多年的时间和许多资源。commit的
过去分词committed作为形容词，意思是“被占用”、“有任务”。【例如】The truck is committed today. 卡车今天已经有任务。
（6）to commit somebody/something to something意思是“使得（某人或某事物）负起（某个负担）”。【例如】Carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere commits the world to sea levels rising an average of up to 4.6 feet. (The Associated Press, Nov. 17, 2007)
大气层中已有的
二氧化碳，使得世界上的
海平面升高平均可达4.6英尺。
（7）to be committed to可以是“坚守（某一承诺或某一观点）”或“对某事负有义务”的意思（属表示延续状态的第一类动词）。【例如】I'm committed to help him.我有义务要帮助他。/ He was committed to his view on the Iraq issue. 他坚持他在
伊拉克问题上的观点。/ He was committed to his own version of evolutionism. 他坚守自己那个版本的
进化论。committed也可以演变成为纯粹的形容词。【例如】a committed Marxist坚定的
马克思主义者 / On land, human beings may be committed agriculturists, but in the sea they remain largely hunter-gatherers—albeit hunter-gatherers with industrialized fleets equipped with satellite and radar. (The Economist, Aug. 9, 2003, p. 19) 在陆地上，人类可能是坚定的务农主义者，但是在海上他们仍然主要是狩猎采集业者，尽管这样的狩猎采集业者拥有配备卫星和雷达的工业化船队。
（8）但是commit也可以作为
不及物动词，相当于commit oneself。【例如】When you commit to war, you commit to a situation where you don't always have control.(Gen. Richard Myers, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman. On Iraq war, Newsweek，Dec. 13, 2004, p. 36) 你一打起仗来，就要应付一个你不一定总是控制得了的局面。