accept

American  

[ak-sept, ik-] / ækˈsɛpt, ɪk- /

verb (used with object)

• accepts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accepted,
  past participle,  past
• accepting
  present participle

1. 

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

   to accept a present;

   to accept a proposal.

   Antonyms:

   reject

2. to agree or consent to; accede to.

   to accept a treaty;

   to accept an apology.

   Synonyms:

   concede

3. to respond or answer affirmatively to.

   to accept an invitation.

4. to undertake the responsibility, duties, honors, etc., of.

   to accept the office of president.

5. to receive or admit formally, as to a college or club.

6. to accommodate or reconcile oneself to.

   to accept the situation.

7. to regard as true or sound; believe.

   to accept a claim;

   to accept Catholicism.

   Synonyms:

   acknowledge

8. to regard as normal, suitable, or usual.

9. to receive as to meaning; understand.

10. Commerce. to acknowledge, by signature, as calling for payment, and thus to agree to pay, as a draft.

11. (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.

12. to receive or contain (something attached, inserted, etc.).

    This socket won't accept a three-pronged plug.

13. to receive (a transplanted organ or tissue) without adverse reaction.

---

verb (used without object)

• accepts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accepted,
  past participle,  past
• accepting
  present participle

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

accept British  

/ əkˈsɛpt /

verb

1. to take or receive (something offered)

2. to give an affirmative reply to

   to accept an invitation

3. to take on the responsibilities, duties, etc, of

   he accepted office

4. to tolerate or accommodate oneself to

5. to consider as true or believe in (a philosophy, theory, etc)

   I cannot accept your argument

6. (may take a clause as object) to be willing to grant or believe

   you must accept that he lied

7. to receive with approval or admit, as into a community, group, etc

8. commerce to agree to pay (a bill, draft, shipping document, etc), esp by signing

9. to receive as adequate, satisfactory, or valid

10. to receive, take, or hold (something applied, inserted, etc)

11. archaic to take or receive an offer, invitation, etc

---

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

• accepter
  noun
• preaccept
  verb
• reaccept
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Participles

• accepting
  present
• accepted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• accept
  simple
• accepts
  simple
• have accepted
  perfect
• has accepted
  perfect
• am accepting
  progressive
• are accepting
  progressive
• is accepting
  progressive
• have been accepting
  perfect progressive
• has been accepting
  perfect progressive

Past

• accepted
  simple
• had accepted
  perfect
• was accepting
  progressive
• were accepting
  progressive
• had been accepting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will accept
  simple
• will have accepted
  perfect
• will be accepting
  progressive
• will have been accepting
  perfect progressive

---

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accept accepts accepted accepting

He offered to accept a B to resolve the dispute.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

"I didn't believe it until the very end, I couldn't accept it at all."

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

“I take full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused, and I accept the criticism that comes with it,” he said in note to staff that was shared with MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 8, 2026

His family took the decision to abide by Issac's wishes as a lifelong Witness not to accept such a procedure.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

She tried to think up some reason that he’d accept.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

According to its website, it only accepts money from Americans and its board is composed exclusively of Americans.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026

Bullock cheekily reminded Abdy that, when she accepts her award, “remember that when they gave it to you, you were initially employed at the place where you are no longer employed.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

But he accepts there should be human guardrails: "The agents today are imperfect. Somebody has to take accountability."

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Democracy rests on a simple bargain: The loser accepts the result because both sides trust the count.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

But he is glad that she accepts his offer to help her clean up before leaving.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Speaking after the ceremony, Matthews said she accepted the OBE in memory of her family and "in gratitude of the freedoms I have as a female in this era".

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

When they combined those measurements with earlier data gathered between 2011 and 2018, the statistical significance increased to 3.2 standard deviations, exceeding the widely accepted threshold for evidence.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2026

Instead, “we accepted a tour and just rolled.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

He takes credit for arguing that Smith wasn’t lawfully appointed, a position accepted by U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

A court had accepted a plea from a software company called the Avant!

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

But he said the war was "not necessarily popular" but necessary – perhaps the closest he has come to accepting that Americans have soured on the enterprise.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

Speaking Saturday, Pahlavi said he was accepting the prize only as a "trustee" until a democratically elected government was in power in Iran.

From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2026

Walmart executives are prohibited from offering or accepting even a free cup of coffee when doing business deals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The agency is accepting responses until 3 p.m.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

I tried to call her and got a message that her phone was “not accepting calls.”

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• acknowledge
• admit
• adopt
• affirm
• approve
• assume
• buy
• comply
• recognize
• sign
• undertake

---