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Definition of "constitute" []

  • To be the elements or parts of; compose: Copper and tin constitute bronze. (verb-transitive)
  • To amount to; equal: " Rabies is transmitted through a bite; . . . patting a rabid animal in itself does not constitute exposure” ( Malcolm W. Browne). (verb-transitive)
  • To set up or establish according to law or provision: a body that is duly constituted under the charter. (verb-transitive)
  • To found (an institution, for example). (verb-transitive)
  • To enact (a law or regulation). (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "constitute" in a sentence
  • "We can dick around over what types of physical or mental pain constitute torture, but there doesn't seem like too much debate that "torture" means "something that is really really painful that would be used in extreme (or under no) circumstances.""
  • "That means the 24 Republicans need to win constitute less than a third of those."
  • "Since when does the consumption of saliva or perhaps vomit is a better term constitute the violation of “the prime directive”?"