What does submitted mean?
Submitted describes something formally presented for judgment, approval, or consideration, as in a submitted report or application. It is also the past tense and past participle of submit: an applicant submits a form, a researcher submits findings, and a person may submit to authority or defeat. In administrative and professional settings, the word often suggests a voluntary act involving a document, proposal, account, or piece of work being handed over for examination. “Submitted” can additionally imply deference when applied to a person, particularly in older or formal language. The word derives from Latin submittere, formed from sub-, meaning “under,” and mittere, meaning “send.” Its underlying idea was originally to place or send something under another person’s power, which accounts for both its documentary sense and its older meanings of yielding, surrendering, or doing homage.
Presented or handed in for consideration, judgment, or approval.
"The panel interviewed the submitted candidates."
Typical of formal, administrative, editorial, legal, and academic contexts.
The past tense and past participle of submit, meaning to hand over, send, make available, or place under another’s authority.
"The engineer submitted the revised plans to the client."
Used formally in institutional settings; the participial use is especially common in passive constructions.
Submit originally meant to place something beneath another: its Latin ancestor combined “under” with “send,” reflecting the act of placing a person or cause under someone’s authority.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does submitted come from?
Submitted comes from the past tense and past participle of submit. Submit entered English from Latin submittere, literally “to place under” or “to send under,” formed from sub- (“under”) and mittere (“send”). The word was used in the sense of placing a person under another’s authority or yielding to a superior power before its modern administrative meanings became dominant. Submission and submissive developed from the same Latin family.
How submitted is actually used
The form is common in formal and administrative contexts. It can also convey humility or voluntary deference, especially when describing a person who submitted to another person or authority.