adapt

[uh-dapt]

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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.

Origin of adapt

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

Related formsa·dapt·ed·ness, nounmis·a·dapt, verbnon·a·dapt·ing, adjectivere·a·dapt, verb (used with object)un·a·dapt·ed, adjectivewell-a·dapt·ed, adjective

Can be confusedadapt adept adopt

Synonyms for adapt

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adapt ON THESAURUS.COM

1. fit, accommodate, suit, reconcile, conform; modify, rework, convert.

Synonym study

1. See adjust.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for adapting

accustom, fit, prepare, conform, acclimate, modify, accommodate, shape, tailor, comply, readjust, suit, alter, revise, familiarize, square, reconcile, make, habituate, qualify

Examples from the Web for adapting

Contemporary Examples of adapting

Some of this is just a natural part of adapting to the natural climate change that is happening in the Arctic.
Russia Preps Its North Pole Invasion
Dave Majumdar
November 8, 2014
Southerland has lots of company among Republicans when it comes to adapting past positions in order to appeal to women voters.
The Republican War on Women Continues, Just More Quietly
Eleanor Clift
October 13, 2014
Paul Thomas Anderson, director of Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood, has taken on the task of adapting Vice for the screen.
Viral Video of the Day: The ‘Inherent Vice’ Trailer Is Loopy Fun
Alex Chancey
September 30, 2014
There were, by his guess, “several other people circling Roger” with the idea of adapting his memoir into a documentary film.
‘Life Itself’: A Fitting, Heartrending Tribute to Cinema’s Great Appreciator Roger Ebert
Marlow Stern
July 2, 2014
Both are tremendously talented, smart leaders who have built careers failing, adapting, and then succeeding.
The GOP’s Long, Hard Road in California
Stuart Stevens
May 8, 2014

Historical Examples of adapting

Don Santiago had the secret of adapting himself to the weaknesses of his flock.
Mayflower (Flor de mayo)
Vicente Blasco Ibez
Very well, we of Genoa and Texcoco are adapting to the present situation.
Adaptation
Dallas McCord Reynolds
Nor were the dogs long in adapting themselves to the changed conditions.
The Scarlet Plague
Jack London
He is skillful in catching an idea and adapting it to his purposes.
Woodrow Wilson and the World War
Charles Seymour
Competition is nature's means of adapting life to its environment.
The Spirit of American Government
J. Allen Smith

British Dictionary definitions for adapting

adapt

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 Formsadaptable, 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

Word Origin and History for adapting

adapt

early 15c. (implied in adapted) "to fit (something, for some purpose)," from Middle French adapter (14c.), from Latin adaptare "adjust," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + aptare "join," from aptus "fitted" (see apt). Meaning "to undergo modification so as to fit new circumstances" (intransitive) is from 1956. Related: Adapting.