adapt

American  

[uh-dapt] / əˈdæpt /

verb (used with object)

1. to make suitable to requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly.

   They adapted themselves to the change quickly.

   He adapted the novel for movies.

   Synonyms:

   convert, rework, modify, conform, reconcile, suit, accommodate, fit

---

verb (used without object)

1. to adjust oneself to different conditions, environment, etc..

   to adapt easily to all circumstances.

adapt British  

/ əˈdæpt /

verb

1. (often foll by to) to adjust (someone or something, esp oneself) to different conditions, a new environment, etc

2. (tr) to fit, change, or modify to suit a new or different purpose

   to adapt a play for use in schools

---

Related Words

See adjust.

Other Word Forms

• adaptability noun
• adaptable adjective
• adaptedness noun
• adaptive adjective
• misadapt verb
• nonadapting adjective
• readapt verb (used with object)
• unadapted adjective
• well-adapted adjective

Etymology

Origin of adapt

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin adaptāre “to fit, adjust,” perhaps via French adapter; 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.

Example Sentences

The machine doesn’t adapt to its new circumstances.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026

Earlier this year, Netflix announced that it will adapt Cosby’s “All the Sinners Bleed” into a limited series, to star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as the novel’s small town black sheriff dealing with a serial killer.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

As much as Woltemade has had to adapt to a new style and a more intense, physical league following his move from Stuttgart, Newcastle must play to his strengths too.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

"These results are an important piece of the larger puzzle of what is going on in the overall population as they attempt to adapt to climate change in real time."

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

“It’s a child’s job to adapt to a parent. You have a strict father and you have to adapt quickly.”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Related Words

• acclimate
• accommodate
• accustom
• alter
• comply
• conform
• fit
• modify
• prepare
• readjust
• revise
• shape
• suit
• tailor