adapt
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(often foll by to) to adjust (someone or something, esp oneself) to different conditions, a new environment, etc
-
(tr) to fit, change, or modify to suit a new or different purpose
to adapt a play for use in schools
Related Words
See adjust.
Other Word Forms
- adaptability noun
- adaptable adjective
- adaptedness noun
- adaptive adjective
- misadapt verb
- nonadapting adjective
- readapt verb (used with object)
- unadapted adjective
- well-adapted adjective
Etymology
Origin of adapt
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin adaptāre “to fit, adjust,” perhaps via French adapter; ad-, apt
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.
Here’s a look back at that winner, plus the films and people who took home prizes for director, and adapted and original screenplays.
From Los Angeles Times
In response, universities, nonprofits and private consultants across the U.S. have developed curricula for law enforcement on how to recognize autistic behaviors and adapt accordingly.
From Los Angeles Times
"One day these microresonators can be adapted for a wide range of sensors from navigation to identifying chemicals."
From Science Daily
Everton have now failed to win in seven home games as they struggle to adapt to life at their new 52,000 capacity Hill Dickinson Stadium.
From Barron's
“The ground is shifting underneath our feet,” Fang wrote, “and the industry is going to need to adapt to it.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
