omit
/əˈmɪt/To not include something, either on purpose or by accident. You omit something when you leave it out of a piece of writing, a list, or a process.
- He omitted his previous job from the application form.
- Please do not omit any required details in your report.
- The editor omitted two paragraphs from the final draft.
Adinary Nuance
Omit sits in a cluster with leave out, exclude, skip, and drop — but they are not always interchangeable. Omit is the most formal of the group and is the go-to word in academic essays, official reports, and legal writing; if you are writing for IELTS or in a business context, "omit" will almost always sound more appropriate than "leave out." Exclude is close in formality but carries a stronger sense of deliberate rejection — you exclude someone from a group, but you omit a sentence from a paragraph. Skip is casual and implies moving past something in a sequence, while leave out is the neutral, everyday spoken equivalent of omit.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- Bỏ qua / lược bỏ
- Spanish
- Omitir
- Chinese
- 省略
- Japanese
- 省略する
- Korean
- 생략하다
Etymology
From Latin "omittere," a combination of "ob-" (away) and "mittere" (to send), meaning to let go or neglect. The word entered English in the 15th century, largely through scholarly and legal Latin usage.
Common phrases
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is 'omit' a formal or informal word?
- 'Omit' is formal. It is very common in academic writing, IELTS essays, legal documents, and business reports. In everyday conversation, most people say 'leave out' instead.
- What is the difference between 'omit' and 'exclude'?
- 'Exclude' suggests a deliberate decision to keep someone or something out, often from a group or category. 'Omit' is broader — it can be accidental or intentional, and it usually refers to leaving something out of a text, list, or process.
- Can 'omit' be used for accidental mistakes, or only deliberate actions?
- 'Omit' can describe both. You can 'accidentally omit' a word, or 'deliberately omit' sensitive information. The word itself does not imply intention — context tells you which it is.
- Is 'omit' common in IELTS Academic writing?
- Yes, 'omit' is a useful word for IELTS Academic Task 1 and Task 2. Using 'omit' instead of 'leave out' shows a stronger academic vocabulary, which can positively affect your Lexical Resource score.