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.

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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

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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

When a seller lists a home for sale privately, they can determine their asking price, test it out, and then cut it if necessary, without making every price adjustment public.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

He’s working with coaches on making a small adjustment to his delivery.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

This adjustment is often referred to as the “Fed Model,” a valuation indicator that got much attention on Wall Street several decades ago.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

He’s confident his speed and strength will make it a smooth adjustment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

I expected that the adjustment would be similar to attending a new school among my own people.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals

“While this does not completely clear Meta of other outstanding lawsuits, we believe the financial details and platform adjustments are relatively benign,” Baird analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in a Wednesday note.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

But Jaissle made it clear that "adjustments need to be done and will be" in an interview with BBC Sport last week.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

But they still had questions, like how open was he going to be to diving into adjustments with their staff?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Speaking in front of about 10,000 workers at VW's Wolfsburg factory, CEO Oliver Blume said for the first time that it was likely "about half of the adjustments required would fall in Germany".

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

"Well . . . that's fine, I guess," Mike said, "but you need to do your assigned work first. I asked for those satellite adjustments two weeks ago and you still haven't done them."

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Related Words

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