adapt
[uh-dapt]
- to make suitable to requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly: They adapted themselves to the change quickly. He adapted the novel for movies.
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- to adjust oneself to different conditions, environment, etc.: to adapt easily to all circumstances.
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Origin of adapt
Synonyms
See more synonyms for adapt on Thesaurus.com1. 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. 2018
Examples from the Web for adapting
Contemporary Examples
Some of this is just a natural part of adapting to the natural climate change that is happening in the Arctic.
Southerland has lots of company among Republicans when it comes to adapting past positions in order to appeal to women voters.
Paul Thomas Anderson, director of Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood, has taken on the task of adapting Vice for the screen.
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 EbertMarlow Stern
July 2, 2014
Both are tremendously talented, smart leaders who have built careers failing, adapting, and then succeeding.
Historical Examples
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.
AdaptationDallas McCord Reynolds
Nor were the dogs long in adapting themselves to the changed conditions.
The Scarlet PlagueJack London
He is skillful in catching an idea and adapting it to his purposes.
Woodrow Wilson and the World WarCharles Seymour
Competition is nature's means of adapting life to its environment.
The Spirit of American GovernmentJ. Allen Smith
adapt
- (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
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Word Origin
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
v.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper