Meaning & use
submit work
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Meanings
phrasetransitive
To hand in or send in a piece of work, such as an assignment or report, for review or assessment.
Grammar: Takes an object: submit work. Often followed by 'to' (a person or place) or 'by' (a deadline).
Patterns
- submit work to someone
- submit work by a deadline
- submit your work online
Students must submit their work to the professor by Friday.
Please submit work through the online portal before midnight.
She submitted her work late and lost points.
phrasetransitive
To formally offer a piece of writing, art, or other material to a publisher, competition, or organization for consideration.
Grammar: Often used with 'to' or 'for': submit work to a magazine, submit work for a prize.
Patterns
- submit work to a magazine
- submit work for publication
- submit work for a competition
The artist submitted her work to the gallery for the summer exhibition.
Writers are invited to submit work for the annual short story prize.
Common combinations
- submit work on time
- It's important to submit work on time to avoid penalties.
- submit work electronically
- Most journals now ask you to submit work electronically.
- submit work for grading
- The teacher reminded us to submit work for grading before the break.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hand in
- More informal and common in school contexts; it means the same as submit work.
- turn in
- American, informal; used for homework or assignments.
- send in
- Often used for things sent by mail or online, such as applications or entries.
Commonly confused: submit work or submission?
submit work vs submission
Submission is the noun form; it refers to the act of submitting or the work that is submitted.
Practice
You need to ___ your work to the editor by next Monday.
Choose one answer.
After 'to' in 'need to', the base form 'submit' is correct. 'Submitting' would need a helping verb like 'are', and 'submits' is third-person singular.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “submit work”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.