accommodate

American  

[uh-kom-uh-deyt] / 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

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accommodate accommodates accommodated accommodating

Elsewhere on the property, there is a six-car garage and a motor court that can accommodate 21 vehicles.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

The Games will also need to accommodate millions of fans traveling around Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

TUI expects demand to remain resilient, but increasingly shift toward destinations with room to accommodate more tourists, Ebel said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

With an open-door policy, the mission has been a refuge for as many a 1,000 people, at one point putting up hundreds of cots nightly in its chapel to accommodate women from the street.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Strong men lifted Garfield and the mattress from the wagon onto the rail car, which had been retrofitted to accommodate him.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

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

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

Sometimes we go out to a restaurant in the Atlanta Underground, or see a film at a theater that accommodates his wheelchair.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

It added that it prioritises registrations for placements where children need to be accommodated urgently and it is "very concerned" about the profit motives of some providers.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

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

Yaroslavsky supports increasing housing density near transit centers but said if left unchecked, the law could lead to more homes than can be accommodated by the city’s infrastructure.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

If he feels these changes can be accommodated, they can.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

Meanwhile a delegation of Ministry officials, including the Minister of Magic himself, was being accommodated within the castle.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Muenster is less assertive but more accommodating: its mild butteriness stands beside the sauce without competing, and it softens agreeably in summer warmth without becoming stringy or oily.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

The calendar is also less accommodating than it was.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

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

But these days, builders and renovators often choose taller, “comfort height” toilets, usually with good intentions, like accommodating the disabled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

It’s made him very accommodating, since he’s not blind to Mother’s faults.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

Related Words

• contain
• entertain
• hold
• rent
• shelter
• take in
• welcome