adjustment

American  

[uh-juhst-muhnt] / əˈdʒʌst mənt /

noun

• adjustments
  plural

1. the act of adjusting; adaptation to a particular condition, position, or purpose.

2. the state of being adjusted; orderly relation of parts or elements.

3. a device, as a knob or lever, for adjusting.

   the adjustments on a television set.

4. the act of bringing something into conformity with external requirements.

   the adjustment of one's view of reality.

5. harmony achieved by modification or change of a position.

   They worked out an adjustment of their conflicting ideas.

6. Sociology. a process of modifying, adapting, or altering individual or collective patterns of behavior so as to bring them into conformity with other such patterns, as with those provided by a cultural environment.

7. Insurance. the act of ascertaining the amount of indemnity that the party insured is entitled to receive under the policy, and of settling the claim.

8. a settlement of a disputed account or claim.

9. a change or concession, as in price or other terms, in view of minor defect or the like.

---

adjustment British  

/ əˈdʒʌstmənt /

noun

1. the act of adjusting or state of being adjusted

2. a control for regulating

   the adjustment for volume is beside the speaker

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misadjustment
  noun
• nonadjustment
  noun
• overadjustment
  noun
• preadjustment
  noun
• underadjustment
  noun
• adjustmental
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• adjustments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of adjustment

First recorded in 1635–45; adjust + -ment

Explanation

The act of making an alteration or modification is an adjustment. If you buy a new pair of jeans, but they are too long, you can make a quick adjustment and hem them, have someone else hem them, or use safety pins. The process of adapting to your environmental conditions is also called an adjustment. After you leave home for college, both you and your parents will have a period of adjustment. Some people adjust easier to change than others — you may be having a ball going to class, eating cereal for dinner, and making new friends but an adjustment your parents will have to make is that they will need to stop worrying about you.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

adjustment adjustments

Because the first maneuver was so accurate, mission controllers can wait longer before making the follow-up adjustment, which is now scheduled for later this month.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

Median household income topped the peak hit just before the Covid pandemic, reaching $87,460 in 2025, up 2.6% from 2024 after adjustment for inflation, the new data show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

If those two cushions disappear at the same time, the adjustment that has so far taken place almost entirely through valuation could quickly shift into stock prices.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Chargers defensive end Akheem Mesidor isn’t surprised by Slaughter’s seamless adjustment to center.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

After some adjustment, Jack has warmed to the idea of Molly living here.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

I vividly remember going to his design studio to review the prototypes of three dolls with him, take notes and make necessary adjustments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Nonetheless, as McDaniel emphasized, talk of expectations and adjustments don’t matter — it’s what shows up on film that does.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

“In our market, condo sellers are having to make price adjustments more often than single-family home sellers,” Sturtevant said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

One catch: These funds distribute all of each year’s inflation adjustments as income.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Timbre, tempo, and dynamics are so powerful that a few adjustments here and there can change the entire learning atmosphere of a classroom.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• alteration
• arrangement
• improvement
• modification
• readjustment
• regulation