From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconstitutecon‧sti‧tute /ˈkɒnstɪtjuːt $ ˈkɑːnstɪtuːt/ ●●○ W3 AWL verb 1 [linking verb]BE to be considered to be something Failing to complete the work constitutes a breach of the employment contract. The rise in crime constitutes a threat to society.2 [linking verb]BE if several people or things constitute something, they are the parts that form it SYN make up We must redefine what constitutes a family.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say make up rather than constitute:His letters to his wife make up the middle section of the book.GRAMMAR: Using the progressive• In meanings 1 and 2, constitute is not used in the progressive. You say: This constitutes a criminal offence. ✗Don’t say: This is constituting a criminal offence.• However, the participle form constituting is often used: Fish products are significant in Japan’s imports, constituting 30% of the total.3 [transitive] formalSTART something/MAKE something START to officially form a group or organization SYN found The Federation was constituted in 1949.Grammar Constitute is usually passive in this meaning.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
constitute• Nitrogen constitutes 78% of the earth's atmosphere.• We may need to redefine what constitutes a family.• The spread of international crime and corruption constitutes a major threat to the global economy.• Taken together, they constitute a quite dramatic increase in inequality.• The local authority decided that the present housing conditions constituted a risk for the mother and baby.• It is sometimes difficult to believe that the different groups living within our borders constitute a single society.• The focus is upon clues which together constitute a text ready for reading and interpretation.• No one doubts that they remain guesses; but what would constitute an intelligent as opposed to an unintelligent guess?• The very act of concluding a conflicting treaty would constitute breach and could be treated as such by its other parties.• Children constitute four out of every ten poor people in the United States.• The company's action constituted fraud.• The long ball constitutes more than half her shooting.• Because journalists don't think the congressman constitutes much of a threat, they don't write or broadcast stories about him.• And their gardening shows are designed for audiences who live somewhere other than the sizzling hell that constitutes summer in Tucson.• The thin layers that constitute the laser head are only 400 atoms thick.• Alaska is the largest of the fifty states that constitute the USA.• According to Marx, "money constitutes true power."Origin constitute (1400-1500) Latin past participle of constituere “to set up, constitute”, from com- ( → COM-) + statuere “to set up” 