commitment n
1: an act of committing: as
a: placement in or assignment to a prison or mental hospital
◇ Commitment to a mental health facility is called civil commitment when it is not part of a criminal proceeding. Civil commitment proceedings are initiated by the patient, in the case of voluntary commitment, or by someone (as a family member or government agent) authorized by statute to petition for the patient's involuntary commitment. Some form of a hearing and periodic review is required in involuntary commitment proceedings. A criminal defendant may be committed to a mental hospital as a result of being found incompetent to stand trial, not guilty by reason of insanity, or incompetent to be sentenced.
b: an act of referring a matter to a legislative committee
c: a warrant committing someone to a prison
2: an agreement or promise to do something in the future; esp: a promise to assume a financial obligation at a future date
cannot meet their loan commitment s
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.