Meaning of admit In English

• 0 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.

  • After several attempts to untie the knot, I admitted defeat and cut through it with a knife.

• 1 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.

  • Spain was admitted to the European Community in 1986.

  • UK She was admitted to hospital suffering from shock.

  • US She was admitted to the hospital suffering from shock.

• 2 to recognize or accept something as true:

  • [ T ] He admitted his guilt.

  • [ + (that) clause ] She admitted (that) she had made a mistake.

• 3 to allow someone or something to enter:

  • Each ticket admits one member and a guest.

• 4 to say that you have done something dishonest or have not succeeded in doing something:

  • "We need to do more to attract the younger end of the market," the Chairman admitted.

  • It can be difficult to admit mistakes in front of colleagues who may be competitors for the next promotion.

  • admit to sth Three suspects admitted to the fraud scheme during a series of interviews with federal agents.

  • admit (that) British Airways admitted last week that the credit market downturn was affecting business travel.

  • admit doing sth In court, she admitted receiving almost $1 million as "consulting fees".

  • admit guilt/failure/defeat The company received a discount on its fine because it admitted its guilt.

  • admit a charge/offence/allegation Several firms have been forced to admit charges of paying illegal bonuses to employees.

• 5 to admit that you are legally responsible for something that has harmed someone:

  • As part of the agreement, the chairman and his affiliates do not admit any liability or wrongdoing.

• 6 to officially give permission for a person, company, or country to join a large organization:

  • admit sb to sth Over the next five years, several new countries will be admitted to the EU.

• 7 to officially give permission for someone to attend a meeting or other event:

  • admit sb to sth Newspaper reporters will not be admitted to the hearing.

• 8 if a court of law admits evidence or admits something as evidence, it allows something to be used to decide whether someone is guilty of a crime:

  • Prosecutors asked the court to admit the recordings as evidence.