verb · formal
constitute
UK/ˈkɒn.stɪ.tjuːt/US/ˈkɑːn.stɪ.tuːt/CON·sti·tute
to form or make up (something); to be the parts that combine to form something
Examples
“Women constitute 48% of the workforce in the industry.”
“Small businesses constitute the majority of companies in the region.”
“These five categories constitute nearly 90% of total sales.”
Band 8 sentence
“Non-renewable energy sources still constitute a considerable proportion of the nation's energy mix.”
Collocations
- constitute X% / constitute the majority
- constitute a significant part
Word family
Common mistakes
constitute of 40%→constitute 40%
They constitute to 30%→They constitute 30%
Say it for a higher band
5make up→6form→7+constitute
Synonyms
make up
account for
Easily confused
make up
“Foreign students make up about 25% of the university population.”
account for
“Exports account for approximately 60% of the country's GDP.”
Related words
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In Comparing proportions
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