词语释义： Confirm

Explain in English

When you need to make sure before you leave that you have a reservation, you often call ahead to confirm, that is, to make sure that your tickets or space are set aside for you.

The firm in confirm should give you a clue as to the word's meaning: to shore up or verify something. When you make sure something is set, or firm, you confirm it. The word comes from the Latin con- "together, altogether," and firmāre "make firm," so confirm originally meant roughly "to make (something) altogether firm."