adapt

American

[uh-dapt] / əˈdæpt /

verb (used with object)

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)

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

to adapt easily to all circumstances.

adapt British

/ əˈdæpt /

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

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.

Fund managers contend that AI will affect each software company differently and that some will adapt or even benefit.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s the same tool that insurance actuaries use to calculate life expectancy, adapted to estimate how long a typical player might expect to play in the WNBA.

From The Wall Street Journal

This appears to reflect how the brain adapts and reorganizes itself after injury.

From Science Daily

It also raises new questions about the origin of these injection systems, including whether they first evolved to support coexistence with the host or were later adapted by harmful bacteria.

From Science Daily

But the head coach's absolute belief in his methods occasionally strayed into dogma, and his apparent refusal to adapt - or incorporate just a little more pragmatism - proved costly.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023