acclimate

American  

[ak-luh-mayt, uh-klahy-mit] / ˈæk ləˌmeɪt, əˈklaɪ mɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

• acclimates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• acclimated,
  past participle,  past
• acclimating
  present participle

1. 

   to accustom or become accustomed to a new climate or environment; adapt.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• acclimation
  noun
• reacclimate
  verb
• acclimatable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• acclimating
  present
• acclimated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• acclimate
  simple
• acclimates
  simple
• have acclimated
  perfect
• has acclimated
  perfect
• am acclimating
  progressive
• are acclimating
  progressive
• is acclimating
  progressive
• have been acclimating
  perfect progressive
• has been acclimating
  perfect progressive

Past

• acclimated
  simple
• had acclimated
  perfect
• was acclimating
  progressive
• were acclimating
  progressive
• had been acclimating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will acclimate
  simple
• will have acclimated
  perfect
• will be acclimating
  progressive
• will have been acclimating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of acclimate

From the French word acclimater, dating back to 1785–95; see ac-, climate

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Explanation

When you acclimate yourself to a situation, you become used to it. It usually means getting accustomed to a particular new climate, but it can also mean getting used to other situations, such as a new school. The word climate in the word acclimate should give you a clue as to the word's meaning: to get used to a specific climate. Nature allows the human body to acclimate itself to various weather conditions. For example, people moving to higher altitudes will develop more red blood cells in order to absorb oxygen better. This is their bodies' way of acclimating to the thinner air. It takes a while for the body to become acclimated to a new climate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

acclimate acclimates acclimated acclimating

The team ultimately decided that in order to acclimate, they’d leave eight days before the game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

With redshirts no longer a concern, Riley had promised to acclimate as many young players as possible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

Another factor could be the sudden spike in temperature in mid-July, leaving the animals insufficient time to acclimate to the heat, Karaki adds.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

As they acclimate to rural life, they’re embraced by a community that takes care of each other and the world around them, including the kind, furry giant who Mei names Totoro.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

If I help him, I could end up riding the pine this season, and if I don’t help Boy21 acclimate to Bellmont, I’d be disobeying Coach for the first time in my life.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

"Understanding how T. oblongifolia acclimates to heat gives us new strategies to help crops adapt to a warming planet."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2025

Roz is the reader’s proxy, an innocent who acclimates to the complex rhythms of the natural world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025

Lifetime cameras have followed Rose as she acclimates to freedom in a new docuseries, “Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup” debuts Monday.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2024

The Jets signed veteran Trevor Siemian to the practice squad Tuesday, but Saleh said he’ll be inactive for New York’s game against Kansas City on Sunday night as he acclimates himself.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023

He acclimates quickly to the work at this Goupil branch.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

You have to overlook a certain number of coincidences early on as Tom and Jake get acclimated to their new home, back in the town where Tom and his late wife grew up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

"Extreme early-season heat coupled with high tourism rates will make this heat very dangerous, particularly for those not acclimated to the heat and/or traveling from cooler climates," the Las Vegas, Nevada NWS office said.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026

The Fongoli chimps, who today number 35, were the first and for a long time only group of savannah chimpanzees to be acclimated to the presence of researchers.

From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026

That way, their bodies acclimated to the temperature, he claimed, so their hearts didn’t explode.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2025

Mom and Mamou, who were no doubt acclimated to Babou’s driving, swayed with the Smokemobile’s inertia.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

But if there’s any silver lining, it’s that Skubal seems to be acclimating just fine in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Sitting in unease and acclimating to its extreme temperature — refusing to fight our very nature — is one of the most impactful things we can do for our bodies and minds.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

So after acclimating to the thin air near the summit, technicians began to dig the first of four holes, each 1 meter deep, with shovels and a handheld drill.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 2, 2024

Iris takes an oddball approach to acclimating her students to French: She extracts personal confessions from them in English, then writes wildly extrapolated versions of the French on index cards.

From New York Times ● Nov. 21, 2024

“I must be acclimating to the new diet, Chancellor. I apologize,” I say, unable to look at her.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

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Related Words

• accustom

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