accustom

[uh-kuhs-tuhm]

verb (used with object)

1. to familiarize by custom or use; habituate.

   to accustom oneself to cold weather.

accustom

/ əˈkʌstəm /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of accustom¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of accustom¹

C15: from Old French acostumer, from costume _custom

Example Sentences

Football Friday nights in Beallsville, Ohio, have gone silent this October, in a town that became accustomed to absorbing body blows many years ago.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“The leaders of the American resistance were not utopian visionaries but, rather, an assemblage of pragmatic statesmen accustomed to negotiating the space between ideals and realities,” Mr. Ellis writes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

David Min, Walt Disney Co.’s vice president of innovation, said he believes micro dramas will continue to do well, especially with younger audiences accustomed to watching entertainment on their phones.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Gray wolves naturally prey on deer and elk, but members of the Beyem Seyo pack have become so accustomed to preying on cattle that they are passing the habit onto their young, officials said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Investors accustomed to dissecting every payroll figure were left flying blind, forced to rely on private trackers and early state filings that suggested the labor market merely “plodded along” in September.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• acquaint 
• adapt