accommodate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to do a kindness or a favor to; oblige.
to accommodate a friend by helping him move to a new apartment.
- Antonyms:
- inconvenience
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to provide suitably; supply (usually followed bywith ).
The officials were accommodated with seats toward the front of the room.
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to lend money to.
Can you accommodate him, or are you short of cash?
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to provide with a room and sometimes with food.
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to furnish with accommodations, as food and lodgings.
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to have or make room for.
Will this elevator accommodate 10 people?
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to make suitable or consistent; adapt.
to accommodate oneself to circumstances.
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to bring into harmony or make adjustments or allowances for.
to accommodate differences;
to accommodate your busy schedule.
verb (used without object)
-
to become adjusted or adapted.
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to become reconciled; agree.
verb
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(tr) to supply or provide, esp with lodging or board and lodging
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(tr) to oblige or do a favour for
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to adjust or become adjusted; adapt
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(tr) to bring into harmony; reconcile
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(tr) to allow room for; contain
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(tr) to lend money to, esp on a temporary basis until a formal loan has been arranged
Usage
What does accommodate mean? To accommodate someone is to do them a favor or meet their needs or wants in some way, as in You don’t have to accommodate everyone all the time—sometimes the answer should be no. To accommodate a request is to honor it—to do what has been asked, as in They were kind enough to accommodate my special requests. The adjective accommodating means eager or willing to help or please in this way. Accommodate can also mean to make or have room for, as in This bus can accommodate up to 50 passengers. Similarly, accommodate can mean to provide someone with a place to stay, as in Unfortunately the hotel was not able to accommodate us—all the rooms were reserved. The related term accommodation is often used in this context, especially in relation to hotels rooms or other temporary lodging. In this case, it is often used in the plural, as in What are the accommodations like?Accommodation is also commonly used in a general way referring to the act of accommodating. This can be used in any of the senses of the word. Example: We’ve extended our hours to better accommodate our customers.
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reaccommodateverb
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preaccommodateverb (used with object)
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accommodableadjective
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accommodativeadjective
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nonaccommodableadjective
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unaccommodableadjective
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underaccommodatedadjective
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well-accommodatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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accommodatesimple
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accommodatessimple
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have accommodatedperfect
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has accommodatedperfect
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am accommodatingprogressive
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are accommodatingprogressive
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is accommodatingprogressive
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have been accommodatingperfect progressive
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has been accommodatingperfect progressive
Past
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accommodatedsimple
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had accommodatedperfect
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was accommodatingprogressive
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were accommodatingprogressive
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had been accommodatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of accommodate
First recorded in 1515–25; from Latin accommodātus “adjusted,” past participle of accommodāre “to adjust,” from ac- ac- + commod(us) “convenient, fitting, suitable” ( see com-, mode)
Explanation
If you accommodate, you are making an adjustment to suit a particular purpose. If you accommodate your brother's demand for the attic room, then you give in and let him take over that space. Accommodate entered English in the mid-16th century from the Latin word accommodat-, meaning "made fitting." Whether it refers to changing something to suit someone's wishes or providing someone with something he needs, accommodate typically involves making something fit. You might change your lunch plans, for example, to accommodate your best friend's schedule. Accommodate can also refer to providing housing or having enough space for something. You might need to open up the extra bedroom to accommodate your out-of-town guests.
Vocabulary lists containing accommodate
The Call of the Wild
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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.
See Examples For:
Even so, manufacturers such as Valhalla Boatworks are already drawing up plans for vessels that will accommodate such power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
David Duval, 55, said he could accommodate a family.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
My gut feeling - and it is only that - is that the party's ruling body, the Scottish Executive Committee, would want to accommodate her candidacy if she would like to run.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
They made some budgetary adjustments to accommodate the monthly mortgage payment, Markowicz told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Vincent does want to rent the studio next door, which would be large enough to accommodate all of them—Vincent, Sien, her daughter, Maria, and the new baby.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Its legal framework already accommodates this approach by distinguishing between several types of property, including small homes, large apartment buildings, and commercial property.
From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026
“The bandwidth in our 2026 guidance accommodates potential outcomes of ongoing discussions around export controls,” Fouquet said.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026
“We expect that the bandwidth in our 2026 guidance accommodates potential outcomes of ongoing discussions around export controls,” Fouquet said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Addiewell, the only privately run jail in Scotland, can hold just short of 800 prisoners and accommodates convicted adult male prisoners and men on remand.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
He calls her Laurette; he eats a roasted duck every day at 3 P.M.; his mind accommodates a seemingly inexhaustible catalog of Latin binomial names.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
They have accommodated me with a hotel, but I don’t have access to basic amenities like laundry or a kitchen, and it’s been a significant amount of time.
From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026
According to sources who spoke to the BBC, their final destination is Heraklion, where they are expected to be temporarily accommodated before arrangements are made for their return to their home countries.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
“I had another destiny, but life accommodated itself to place me in this valuable situation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
Even so, they accommodated less than 60% of the redemption requests.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
It was a scene that could easily have accommodated, in the distance at least, a medieval castle.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Scottish Ballet said it already faced a £200,000 bill for accommodating its 150 performers and crew and the levy put it under further strain.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Sometimes, homeowners are accommodating adult children who still live with them or are making room for their own elderly parents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
He wants employers to be more accommodating to caregivers because he knows employees need flexibility, like the ability to work from home, in order to advance in their careers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
“The Miracle is a cultural event theater. It’s about accommodating the community,” Smith said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Even his sisters, the most tolerant and accommodating of all the women he knew, had changed their faces and rimmed their eyes with red and charcoal dust.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
