adapt
Americanverb (used with object)
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adapts,
present (3rd person singular)
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adapted,
past participle, past
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adapting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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adapts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
adapted,
past participle, past
-
adapting
present participle
verb
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(often foll by to) to adjust (someone or something, esp oneself) to different conditions, a new environment, etc
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(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
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adaptabilitynoun
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adaptednessnoun
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misadaptverb
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readaptverb (used with object)
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adaptableadjective
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adaptiveadjective
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nonadaptingadjective
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unadaptedadjective
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well-adaptedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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adaptsimple
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adaptssimple
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have adaptedperfect
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has adaptedperfect
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am adaptingprogressive
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are adaptingprogressive
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is adaptingprogressive
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have been adaptingperfect progressive
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has been adaptingperfect progressive
Past
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adaptedsimple
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had adaptedperfect
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was adaptingprogressive
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were adaptingprogressive
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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
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List 4
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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:
Beyond staff shortages, teachers and pupils must also contend with crumbling school buildings, which a 2023 Senate report estimated would require billions of euros to renovate and adapt to a changing climate.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
New research from Binghamton University suggests that these healthy routines are connected to a mental skill called psychological flexibility, which helps people adapt to challenges and recover from stressful experiences.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
"Actors are trained to look out for people that might be vulnerable or sensitive, and they can adapt their acting."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Savaiano says studies have found that the human microbiome, which is all the bacteria and other microorganisms that live in our gut, can adapt to lactose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
“The Night Bazaar has had to adapt, change form, and account for things like families moving to new countries and imaginations evolving,” explained Boo.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
"The kind of person who misses a flight and, instead of panicking, calmly adapts to the situation. This person may still feel stressed, but they're better able to manage it through psychological flexibility."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
The enduring myth of the tower as a site of cruel torments has a lot to do with Ainsworth’s melodramatic novel, which adapts the true story of Lady Jane Grey, the “nine days queen.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
She runs away to a place where she adapts quickly to the creatures around her, and learns how to feel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Chelsea, Mudryk and his representatives have entered an initial two-week assessment period to evaluate how he adapts to life back in an elite football environment.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"He adapts himself very well to things. He really does. I mean he really knows how to adapt himself."
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
The title is adapted by people who have never set eyes on the book to describe unpredictable behavior or contrasting appearances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The case has previously been adapted into Bafta winning BBC drama The Sixth Commandment, starring Timothy Spall and Anne Reid.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The company is also home to "Reese's Book Club", an online reading community whose promoted titles are sometimes adapted for the screen.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Produced with outlaw-country superstar Shooter Jennings, Twin Temple nails the midcentury “countrypolitan” mood when the genre adapted to pop and took on elements of R&B, rock and orchestration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
We did not break down, but adapted ourselves; our twenty years, which made many another thing so grievous, helped us in this.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Microsoft must demonstrate that Maia’s savings survive the costs of development, deployment and adapting software to run on it.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Related: Traditional TV broadcasters attending this week’s annual Mipcom content market and conference in Cannes, France, said they’re adapting to YouTube’s pull on audiences—and finding ways to capitalize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Other Jurassic docodont fossils show that members of this group were already adapting to very different environments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Albuquerque is adapting the work as a 40-by-40-foot installation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
In the nurseries, the Elementary Class Consciousness lesson was over, the voices were adapting future demand to future industrial supply.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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