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constitute

verb

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con·sti·tute | \ ˈkän(t)-stə-ˌtüt

, -ˌtyüt \

constituted; constituting

Definition of constitute

transitive verb

1 : make up, form, compose 12 months constitute a year. … high school dropouts who constitute a major problem in large city slums.— J. B. Conant

2 : set up, establish: such as

a : enact regulations as are constituted by the government

b : found constitute a provisional government

c(1) : to give due or lawful form to an agreement constituted by writing

(2) : to legally process

3 : to appoint to an office, function, or dignity Legal authority constitutes all magistrates.

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Examples of constitute in a Sentence

Women constitute 70 percent of the student population at the college. nine players constitute a baseball team

Recent Examples on the Web There are specific rules for what constitutes a life interest, including the power to determine what happens to the property and liability for its bills. — Liz Weston, Dallas News, "Liz Weston: Don’t give your house to your adult kids," 4 Apr. 2020 Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Your California Privacy Rights. — The Healthyish Team, Bon Appétit, "The Meals We Make When No One Else Is Around," 31 Mar. 2020 Changes required to limit the spread of the virus raise questions of what constitutes ethical treatment of incarcerated people in an effort to prioritize health and safety. — Sarah Midkiff, refinery29.com, "Why Incarcerated People Are Being Let Out Of Jail Amid The Coronavirus Outbreak," 18 Mar. 2020 Still, the debate over what constituted populism was largely limited to academic settings, culminating in the first-ever conference on populism, at the LSE in 1967. — Yasmeen Serhan, The Atlantic, "Populism Is Meaningless," 14 Mar. 2020 Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Your California Privacy Rights. — Phil Oh, Vogue, "Phil Oh’s Best Street-Style Photos From New York Fashion Week Fall 2020," 9 Feb. 2020 Note that the law does not just constitute and codify claims to property. — Adam Tooze, The New York Review of Books, "How ‘Big Law’ Makes Big Money," 28 Jan. 2020 Did a decision made in 1968 to not include them constitute criminal negligence, a deadly but understandable error, or a prudent allocation of scarce money? — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, "Real World Economics: Fatal high-rise fire raises wider cost and benefit questions," 22 Dec. 2019 Of course, Lindley reminds us, what constitutes a good scientific theory depends on the scientific context of its time. — Jim Al-khalili, New York Times, "Has Physics Lost Its Way?," 17 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'constitute.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near constitute

constituent structure

constitutional formula

Statistics for constitute

Last Updated

8 Apr 2020

Cite this Entry

“Constitute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constitute. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.

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More Definitions for constitute

constitute

verb

English Language Learners Definition of constitute

formal

: to make up or form something

: to be the same as something : to be equivalent to something

: to establish or create (an organization, a government, etc.)

See the full definition for constitute in the English Language Learners Dictionary

constitute

verb

con·sti·tute | \ ˈkän-stə-ˌtüt

, -ˌtyüt \

constituted; constituting

Kids Definition of constitute

1 : to form the whole of Twelve months constitute a year.

2 : to establish or create constitute a new government

constitute

transitive verb

con·sti·tute | \ ˈkän-stə-ˌtüt, -ˌtyüt

Legal Definition of constitute

1 : to appoint to an office or function those who are constituted heirs or named legatees — Louisiana Civil Code legal authority constitutes all magistrates

2 : establish, found to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court — U.S. Constitution art. I

3a : to put (as an agreement) into required form

b : to qualify as a letter can constitute a will— W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al. failure to act may constitute negligence

c : to form the substance or whole of the bonds constituted the entire estate

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