constitute
verb
con·sti·tute
ˈkän(t)-stə-ˌtüt 
-ˌtyüt
constituted; constituting
1
2
3
: to appoint to an office, function, or dignity
Legal authority constitutes all magistrates.
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
Nothing provided on this site constitutes tax advice.
—
Andrew Rosen, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
The Trump camp is alleging not only that the film is defamatory but that its release constitutes a form of election interference.
—Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024
Kaplan’s Reform for Illinois has pushed legislation on disclosure of the original donors of campaign funds to super PACs to shine light on dark money and to flesh out a definition for what constitutes coordination between a super PAC and a campaign.
—Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2024
Louis Vuitton has teamed with a cohort of contemporary artists on a collection of silk scarves, or carré in French, which aims to bring new perspectives to the brand’s signature four-petal bloom that constitutes part of its monogram.
—Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 19 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for constitute 
Andrew Rosen, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
The Trump camp is alleging not only that the film is defamatory but that its release constitutes a form of election interference.
—Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024
Kaplan’s Reform for Illinois has pushed legislation on disclosure of the original donors of campaign funds to super PACs to shine light on dark money and to flesh out a definition for what constitutes coordination between a super PAC and a campaign.
—Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2024
Louis Vuitton has teamed with a cohort of contemporary artists on a collection of silk scarves, or carré in French, which aims to bring new perspectives to the brand’s signature four-petal bloom that constitutes part of its monogram.
—Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 19 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for constitute
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'constitute.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near constitute
Cite this Entry
“Constitute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constitute. Accessed 13 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
constitute
verb
con·sti·tute
ˈkän(t)-stə-ˌt(y)üt
constituted; constituting
1
: to appoint to an office or duty
constituted authorities
2
: set up sense 4, establish
a fund was constituted to help needy students
3
: make up sense 2, form
twelve months constitute a year
Legal Definition
constitute
transitive verb
con·sti·tute
ˈkän-stə-ˌtüt, -ˌtyüt
1
: to appoint to an office or function
those who are constituted heirs or named legatees—Louisiana Civil Code
Louisiana Civil Codelegal authority constitutes all magistrates
3
a
: to put (as an agreement) into required form
b
: to qualify as
a letter can constitute a will—W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al.
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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