Synonyms

accept

American

[ak-sept, ik-] / ækˈsɛpt, ɪk- /

verb (used with object)

to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favor.

to accept a present;
to accept a proposal.

Antonyms:

reject
to agree or consent to; accede to.

to accept a treaty;
to accept an apology.

Synonyms:

concede
to respond or answer affirmatively to.

to accept an invitation.
to undertake the responsibility, duties, honors, etc., of.

to accept the office of president.
to receive or admit formally, as to a college or club.
to accommodate or reconcile oneself to.

to accept the situation.
to regard as true or sound; believe.

to accept a claim;
to accept Catholicism.

Synonyms:

acknowledge
to regard as normal, suitable, or usual.
to receive as to meaning; understand.
Commerce. to acknowledge, by signature, as calling for payment, and thus to agree to pay, as a draft.
(in a deliberative body) to receive as an adequate performance of the duty with which an officer or a committee has been charged; receive for further action.

The report of the committee was accepted.
to receive or contain (something attached, inserted, etc.).

This socket won't accept a three-pronged plug.
to receive (a transplanted organ or tissue) without adverse reaction.

verb (used without object)

to accept an invitation, gift, position, etc. (sometimes followed byof ).

accept British

/ əkˈsɛpt /

verb

to take or receive (something offered)
to give an affirmative reply to

to accept an invitation
to take on the responsibilities, duties, etc, of

he accepted office
to tolerate or accommodate oneself to
to consider as true or believe in (a philosophy, theory, etc)

I cannot accept your argument
(may take a clause as object) to be willing to grant or believe

you must accept that he lied
to receive with approval or admit, as into a community, group, etc
commerce to agree to pay (a bill, draft, shipping document, etc), esp by signing
to receive as adequate, satisfactory, or valid
to receive, take, or hold (something applied, inserted, etc)
archaic to take or receive an offer, invitation, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What’s the difference between accept and except? Accept is a common word with many meanings, most of which involve receiving something, taking something on, or putting up with something. Except is most commonly used as a preposition meaning excluding or but, as in Everyone was invited except me, or as a conjunction meaning but for the fact that, as in I would have called, except I lost my phone. Except can also be used as a verb meaning to exclude, as in the common phrase present company excepted, but its verb use is much less common. In contrast, accept is always a verb. To remember the difference in the spelling between accept and except, remember that except shares the prefix ex- with exclude, which is fitting since except is commonly used in situations in which someone or something has been excluded. Accept, on the other hand, is often used in situations in which something is acquired. Here’s an example of accept and except used correctly in the same sentence. Example: I usually accept your excuses, except this time I know they’re not true. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between accept and except.

Commonly Confused

The verbs accept and except are sometimes confused because of their similar pronunciations, especially in rapid speech. Accept means “to take or receive” ( I accept this trophy ), while except means “to exclude” ( Certain types of damage are excepted from coverage in this insurance policy ).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of accept

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English accepten, from Middle French accepter, from Latin acceptāre “to take, receive regularly,” frequentative of accipere “to take, receive,” equivalent to ac- ac- + -cipere, combining form of capere “to take”; cf. captive ( def. )

Explanation

Please accept ("favorably receive") our apologies, but you're just going to have to accept ("put up with") the fact that this verb has almost a dozen different meanings. You might accept ("take") bribes from people who dislike multiple meanings, or they might challenge you to a duel, which you might accept ("consent to"). When historians record your story, you might accept ("officially receive") their books and accept ("hold as true") the most flattering one. When you apply to cool-people clubs, they'll accept ("admit") you, and when you go broke, they'll accept ("take on") your debt, until the day your coffin accepts ("takes") your weary accepting bones.

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Vocabulary lists containing accept

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

accept accepts accepted accepting

Getting people to accept them is a much greater hurdle, one that requires a different kind of engineering.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

"It's necessary to support a struggle against the indifference of a government that refuses to accept that there is a disappearance crisis," said 69-year-old Atanacio Pina, whose missing son was later found dead.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Changes to UK-wide employment law will come in effect on the same date which would make dismissing an employee for refusing to accept contract changes automatically become an unfair dismissal.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Earlier this month, Delivery Hero said it was in favor of a $14.8 billion takeover bid from Uber Technologies and advised shareholders to accept it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

“You’re the one who can’t accept where he comes from, and you’re calling me insecure?”

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

“He understands his mistake, accepts the consequences of his actions and will learn from this. The entire Trojan Family wishes Dante a full recovery, and we send our best regards to him and his family.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

While Nicola, a former Police Scotland sergeant, accepts the final judgement, she says only she could truly decide when she could achieve a sense of closure.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Unlike traditional commodities exchanges, Polymarket accepts funds directly from retail traders, making it more vulnerable to fraud attacks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Koja, 42, accepts a central government plan to keep the US Marine Corps' Futenma air base on Okinawa's main island, but move it to a less populated location.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

I’m not sure Dad believes me, but he accepts my nod as acquiescence.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

It was not immediately clear whether her resignation was accepted.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Morgan Stanley also accepted that the moves they are outlining are not particularly large.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

Iran hasn’t accepted inspections of its core nuclear sites since they were bombed in June 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

However, while they have saved £8.5m of a projected £16.5m pay-off to axed boss Ruben Amorim after he accepted a job at AC Milan, other costs have increased.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

As part of what the press dubbed the “Bodies for Butter” program, East German dictator Walter Ulbricht accepted bribes of food from Western governments in exchange for the release of political prisoners.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

But he added: "We are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force."

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

We stopped accepting every invitation, and that’s when I realized how much of the friendship had come to revolve around spending.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

One piece of advice I encountered warned against accepting any beverage during an interview because doing so made you “the beta.”

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Accountability means doing more than accepting an answer from the party you are answering for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

“Goodbye, blackberry compote,” Kiki echoed, politely accepting my version of the story as fact.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023