adapter

or a·dap·tor

[ uh-dap-ter ]

/ əˈdæp tər /

noun

a person or thing that adapts.

a connector for joining parts or devices having different sizes, designs, etc., enabling them to be fitted or to work together.
Also called plug adapter, adapter plug.a device that connects an electrical plug to an outlet that has a different plug shape: Last time I traveled, I brought the wrong adapter.
Also called AC adapter, power adapter.a device with a cord that plugs into an electrical outlet and functions as an external power supply for a small or portable electronic device, usually converting AC current to DC: I forgot to plug in the adapter, and my laptop died.

an accessory to convert a machine, tool, or part to a new or modified use.

Computers.

expansion card.
an external device containing the necessary circuitry to connect to or work with another device or system: a network adapter; a wireless adapter; a video adapter.

Nearby words

Origin of adapter

First recorded in 1795–1805; adapt + -er¹

Related formsnon·a·dapt·er, non·a·dap·tor, noun

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

Examples from the Web for adaptor

The artist and the adaptor have still hardly begun to work with the endless variety of substances now at their disposal.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind|Herbert George Wells
He is styled the inventor of the velvet pile in tapestry, but it were better to call him the adaptor.
The Tapestry Book|Helen Churchill Candee
The adaptor piece may have a face mould worked upon it to give a pilaster-like appearance if fancy so dictates.
Woodwork Joints|William Fairham
We can do some of these things by apparatus designed by the brain of man—and man really is but an imitator and adaptor of Nature.
Clairvoyance and Occult Powers|Swami Panchadasi

The adaptor deserves great credit for altering as little as possible.
A Boswell of Baghdad|E. V. Lucas

British Dictionary definitions for adaptor

adaptor

adapter

/ (əˈdæptə) /

noun

a person or thing that adapts

any device for connecting two parts, esp ones that are of different sizes or have different mating fitments

a plug used to connect an electrical device to a mains supply when they have different types of terminals
a device used to connect several electrical appliances to a single mains socket

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 adaptor

adapter

1801, agent noun from adapt. Electrical engineering sense from 1907.

Medicine definitions for adaptor

adapter

n.

One that adapts.

A connecting part that joins two pieces of apparatus.

A converter of electric current to a desired form.