Dictionary.com

adapt

[ uh-dapt ]
/ əˈdæpt /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: adapt / adapted / adapting on Thesaurus.com

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.
verb (used without object)
to adjust oneself to different conditions, environment, etc.: to adapt easily to all circumstances.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of adapt

1605–15; <Latin adaptāre to fit, adjust, perhaps via French adapter.See ad-, apt

synonym study for adapt

1. See adjust.

OTHER WORDS FROM adapt

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH adapt

adapt , adept, adopt
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adapt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for adapt

adapt
/ (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 purposeto adapt a play for use in schools

Derived forms of adapt

adaptable, adjectiveadaptability or adaptableness, nounadaptive, adjective

Word Origin for adapt

C17: from Latin adaptāre, from ad- to + aptāre to fit, from aptus apt
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
FEEDBACK