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
Synonym Usage
See adjust.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
adaptabilitynoun
-
adaptednessnoun
-
misadaptverb
-
readaptverb (used with object)
-
adaptableadjective
-
adaptiveadjective
-
nonadaptingadjective
-
unadaptedadjective
-
well-adaptedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
adaptsimple
-
adaptssimple
-
have adaptedperfect
-
has adaptedperfect
-
am adaptingprogressive
-
are adaptingprogressive
-
is adaptingprogressive
-
have been adaptingperfect progressive
-
has been adaptingperfect progressive
Past
-
adaptedsimple
-
had adaptedperfect
-
was adaptingprogressive
-
were adaptingprogressive
-
had been adaptingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of adapt
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin adaptāre “to fit, adjust,” perhaps via French adapter; see ad-, apt
Explanation
Say you move to a country where everyone cooks with lots of hot peppers. At first the food scalds your tongue, but over time you adapt — you change in a way that allows you to deal with the new circumstances. Adapt comes from the ancient word ap, which means "take" or "grasp." Ap is even older than Latin — it comes from a lost language that was spoken by the common ancestors of modern-day Indians and Europeans and has since been reconstructed by linguists, who named it the Proto-Indo-European language, or PIE. So what does adapt have to do with grasp? If you adapt to, say, a new country, it's as though you're grabbing hold of its strange, slippery customs.
Vocabulary lists containing adapt
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 4
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The New SAT: The Language of the Test
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
"That's why my approach is to create a biodiverse place that can adapt to the coming era."
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Existing AI systems have until December 2 to adapt to the new rules, and there are exemptions for "artistic, creative, satirical, fictional" work.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
It warned cyber-security professionals around the world they needed to adapt to the new normal of swarms of AI agents working at speed in strange and clumsy ways that might lead to more breaches.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“It is a little hard to have a very old‑school approach to value investing. You have to adapt it to the current environment, and that means you have to marry quality with value.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Shin knew he was undermining his ability to adapt to his new life, but he also knew that he could not force himself to change.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
It may also depend on how the brain controls, redirects, or adapts its response to that pathology.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
The side that adapts faster imposes costs on its enemy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The truck will also use AI to make driving decisions with “intelligent reasoning that adapts to any scenario,” the company’s website says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Produced by the brilliant team behind “RuPaul’s Drag Race” — Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey, Tom Campbell and RuPaul himself — “Stop! That! Train!” adapts the humor of the Emmy-winning reality show for the big screen.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
The reasons and justifications change over time, as each new caste system reflects and adapts to changes in the social, political, and economic context.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
When the researchers examined the larvae, they discovered that the insects had adapted part of their respiratory system into two pairs of small air sacs.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
So birds adapted for tropical forests use different acoustic building blocks, or motifs, to those from temperate regions.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Our team adapted to a dynamic operating environment with focus and an unwavering commitment to safety,” he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
"Our findings point to a country that remains insufficiently adapted to the changing climate," said Elizabeth Robinson, director of the Grantham Institute.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
He also imagined that the Moon had its inhabitants, well adapted to the inclemencies of the local environment.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
A century-old oilfield-services company is adapting to Middle East headwinds by making money elsewhere.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Another newcomer that has lost its shine with investors is Fervo Energy, which is adapting fracking techniques to provide geothermal energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The challenge for government, farmers, health services, and all of us will be in strengthening resilience to climate volatility and adapting to the many changes that lie ahead as the world continues to warm.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The team is now adapting the plasma system to treat larger amounts of contaminated water.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
Inventing a writing system from scratch must have been incomparably more difficult than borrowing and adapting one.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
