accommodate

American  

[uh-kom-uh-dayt] / əˈkɒm əˌdeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• accommodates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accommodated,
  past participle,  past
• accommodating
  present participle

1. 

   to do a kindness or a favor to; oblige.

   to accommodate a friend by helping him move to a new apartment.

   Synonyms:

   abet, help, assist, aid, serve

   Antonyms:

   inconvenience

2. to provide suitably; supply (usually followed bywith ).

   The officials were accommodated with seats toward the front of the room.

3. to lend money to.

   Can you accommodate him, or are you short of cash?

4. to provide with a room and sometimes with food.

5. to furnish with accommodations, as food and lodgings.

6. to have or make room for.

   Will this elevator accommodate 10 people?

7. to make suitable or consistent; adapt.

   to accommodate oneself to circumstances.

   Synonyms:

   suit, fit

8. to bring into harmony or make adjustments or allowances for.

   to accommodate differences;

   to accommodate your busy schedule.

   Synonyms:

   harmonize, compose

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verb (used without object)

• accommodates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accommodated,
  past participle,  past
• accommodating
  present participle

1. to become adjusted or adapted.

2. to become reconciled; agree.

accommodate British  

/ əˈkɒməˌdeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to supply or provide, esp with lodging or board and lodging

2. (tr) to oblige or do a favour for

3. to adjust or become adjusted; adapt

4. (tr) to bring into harmony; reconcile

5. (tr) to allow room for; contain

6. (tr) to lend money to, esp on a temporary basis until a formal loan has been arranged

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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

See oblige. See contain.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reaccommodate
  verb
• preaccommodate
  verb (used with object)
• accommodable
  adjective
• accommodative
  adjective
• nonaccommodable
  adjective
• unaccommodable
  adjective
• underaccommodated
  adjective
• well-accommodated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• accommodating
  present
• accommodated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• accommodate
  simple
• accommodates
  simple
• have accommodated
  perfect
• has accommodated
  perfect
• am accommodating
  progressive
• are accommodating
  progressive
• is accommodating
  progressive
• have been accommodating
  perfect progressive
• has been accommodating
  perfect progressive

Past

• accommodated
  simple
• had accommodated
  perfect
• was accommodating
  progressive
• were accommodating
  progressive
• had been accommodating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will accommodate
  simple
• will have accommodated
  perfect
• will be accommodating
  progressive
• will have been accommodating
  perfect progressive

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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)

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accommodate accommodates accommodated accommodating

The home’s appeal extends beyond the main residence, with two additional detached structures that could accommodate a variety of uses.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

The systems can’t accommodate some oversize products, such as big bags of dog food.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

You’re still having to learn a vast repertoire of another band and accommodate your style as a working professional and acclaimed musician of many years into someone else’s.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

Herman turned to Fisher, who was recently out of UCLA’s graduate school and Frank Gehry’s practice, when he wanted to build a house that could also accommodate a studio for his large-scale paintings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Like those disinterred dead from his childhood that had been relocated to accommodate a highway.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

But he was recently fitted with a newly-designed prosthesis that accommodates a hearing aid, allowing him to hear on his left side for the first time.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

A rules-based framework accommodates a productivity boom automatically.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

These days, she fields daily requests from brides seeking accelerated turnarounds—which Harris accommodates when she can.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

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

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

Its formless body accommodated slouching, lounging or lying down, selling freedom from both conventional posture and the bourgeois living room.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Unlike federal agencies, state agencies have accommodated crypto intermediaries within their statutory frameworks for more than a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The Croydon company operated three homes in Kent between 2022-2025 which accommodated up to nine children.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Iran responded by firing drones and ballistic missiles at Bahrain and Kuwait, which host U.S. bases and have accommodated the U.S. military throughout the war, according to a senior U.S. official.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Reader, though I look comfortably accommodated, I am not very tranquil in my mind.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

The limits by the two biggest custodians have threatened to curb the growth of the strategy overall, although other custodians have begun accommodating investors who want to do it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

This has the added benefit of accommodating those who don’t want to drink alcohol.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

That's despite pressure on the EU to show more flexibility when it comes to accommodating allies, considering the turbulent times we live in.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Things that are hearty and comforting, endlessly accommodating and somehow greater than the sum of their decidedly humble parts.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

He seemed harmless, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that his accommodating manner, his eagerness to help us, was masking something unpleasant, something more sinister in him.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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