accustom

American  

[uh-kuhs-tuhm] / əˈkʌs təm /

verb (used with object)

accustoms, present (3rd person singular) accustomed, past participle, past accustoming present participle

1. to familiarize by custom or use; habituate.

   to accustom oneself to cold weather.

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accustom British  

/ əˈkʌstəm /

verb

1. to make (oneself) familiar (with) or used (to), as by practice, habit, or experience

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preaccustom
  verb (used with object)
• reaccustom
  verb (used with object)
• unaccustom
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Participles

• accustoming
  present
• accustomed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• accustom
  simple
• accustoms
  simple
• have accustomed
  perfect
• has accustomed
  perfect
• am accustoming
  progressive
• are accustoming
  progressive
• is accustoming
  progressive
• have been accustoming
  perfect progressive
• has been accustoming
  perfect progressive

Past

• accustomed
  simple
• had accustomed
  perfect
• was accustoming
  progressive
• were accustoming
  progressive
• had been accustoming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will accustom
  simple
• will have accustomed
  perfect
• will be accustoming
  progressive
• will have been accustoming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of accustom

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English word from Middle French word acoustumer. See ac-, custom

Explanation

The verb accustom means to become used to or familiar with something; to make something a habit. If there is a new baby in your family, you will most likely become accustomed to changing diapers. Although the verb accustom looks like it should be related to the word custom, it actually comes through costume, through the Old French acostumer, with à, meaning "to," and costume, meaning "fashion or habit." Now it retains the meaning to make something a habit. You can accustom yourself to loud sirens if you live in a city or to the sound of crickets if you live in the country. Parents often cannot become accustomed to the musical taste of their kids.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accustom accustoms accustomed accustoming

Trent, the former customer the Roosevelt Bartell, ended up at the Rite Aid in Wedgwood, where she said she’s had to accustom herself to long waits.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2023

You can accustom yourself to believing things without support or believing things without empirical validation or believing by simply brushing aside questions.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2021

So there are technical aspects that Kalbfleisch has to accustom her to.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2017

The problem is banks and companies who grown accustom to low cost money.

From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2016

It had taken a while to accustom herself to the bird, to end her fearfulness around it.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

Chief among these techniques is "systematic desensitization," the process a mother uses when she accustoms a baby to the ocean by dipping in one foot first, then a leg, then the infant's whole body.

From Time Magazine Archive

Though it is repetitious and - I am afraid to say - increasingly annoying to listen to, this technique soon accustoms our ears to expect equal weight in a tune’s two halves.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

And yet, whoever accustoms himself to read with care these things which I am now writing on the subject of philosophy, will come to the conclusion that no works are better worth reading than these.

From The Academic Questions, Treatise De Finibus, and Tusculan Disputations, of M.T. Cicero, With a Sketch of the Greek Philosophers Mentioned by Cicero by Yonge, Charles Duke

One accustoms oneself to the things one sees every day.

From Spiritual Adventures by Symons, Arthur

I shall always fear that he who accustoms himself to fraud in little things, wants only opportunity to practice it in greater.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

While some economists have said that home buyers have largely grown accustomed to high mortgage rates, there are still signs that the latest run-up in rates has weighed on buyer demand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

At the Stormy Cup cafe, staff had become accustomed to serving cast and crew members in recent years, but now they are catering for more tourists.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Already accustomed to extreme environments, they are quick to adapt to the wind farm's conditions.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

He adds that long-term and experimental research will be essential for determining whether animals are simply becoming accustomed to human activity or experiencing deeper evolutionary changes.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

He drew over the picture the sheet of thin paper on which I was accustomed to rest my hand in painting, to prevent the cardboard from being sullied.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Bacon said he and the fellow star had no qualms accustoming to their new routine while quarantining amid the coronavirus pandemic.

From Fox News ● Jan. 10, 2022

“These reviews also had a good effect in accustoming the troops to see me, although they saw so much of me in their camps and on the picket-lines that this was of minor importance.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2017

The old falconers called the process of accustoming a hawk to a human “watching.”

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2015

With the speedy Wall leading the way, the Wizards plan to use more of a running, uptempo style than Porter was accustoming to playing the past two seasons at Georgetown.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2013

In the interval she invited Blanche to the house on several occasions with a view to accustoming Arnott to her.

From The Bigamist by Young, F.E. Mills

Related Words

• acquaint
• adapt