Synonyms

adopt

American

[uh-dopt] / əˈdɒpt /

verb (used with object)

to choose or take as one's own; make one's own by selection or assent.

to adopt a nickname.
to take responsibility for raising (someone else’s biological child) as one's own, specifically by a formal legal act.

After more than 300 days in foster care, the twins were adopted by a family that was able to keep the siblings together.
to acquire (a pet, especially one from an animal rescue organization).

Local animal rescue groups use social media to persuade people to adopt dogs and cats from them instead of purchasing puppies and kittens from pet shops or breeders.
to take or receive into any kind of new relationship.

to adopt a person as a protégé.
to select as a basic or required textbook or series of textbooks in a course.
to vote to accept.

The House adopted the report.
to accept or act in accordance with (a plan, principle, etc.).

verb (used without object)

to take a nonbiological child into one’s home and raise as one’s own.
to acquire a pet, especially one from an animal rescue organization.

“Adopt! Don’t shop!” is the popular slogan promoted by one nonprofit animal advocacy group.

verb phrase

adopt out to place in a home by means of adoption.

The shelter provides basic medical care and vaccinations to the animals they will be adopting out.

adopt British

/ əˈdɒpt /

verb

law to bring (a person) into a specific relationship, esp to take (another's child) as one's own child
to choose and follow (a plan, technique, etc)
to take over (an idea, etc) as if it were one's own
to take on; assume

to adopt a title
to accept (a report, etc)

"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

Usage

What does adopt mean? To adopt is to take another parent’s child into one’s custody, typically in a formal legal way, in order to permanently act as their parent or guardian. This most commonly involves an adult couple or a single adult adopting and raising a child who is no longer in the custody of either of their birth parents (biological parents), such as in cases where they have died or are otherwise unable to care for the child. This sense of adopt can also be used in reference to adopting an animal as a pet, such as from an animal shelter. The word is especially used this way when the animal had a previous caretaker. Adopt and the noun form adoption have many other more general meanings. Most generally, adopt means to choose or take as one's own. It can also mean to accept something or vote to approve it. In all cases, adoption is the act or process of adopting, or the state of having adopted. To adopt a tradition or religion is to make it one’s own. To adopt a plan is to approve it and act according to its steps. Similarly, to adopt a law is to formally vote to approve it and take steps to follow and enforce it. Example: We’ve found an agency that will help us to adopt.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of adopt

First recorded 1490–1500; late Middle English adopten, partly from Middle French adopter, partly from Latin adoptāre, equivalent to ad- verb prefix + optāre “to desire, pray for”; see ad-, opt

Explanation

You can adopt an air of nonchalance, a fake British accent, or even a stray dog. When you adopt something, you consciously select it and accept it as your own. The word adopt has many different shades of meaning, but most relate to the notion of taking something on and treating it as if it’s your own. You’re probably familiar with what happens if you adopt a child: you take on parental responsibilities and accept the child as if it’s your own. You can adopt other things — such as a plan, a method, or a point of view — in a similar way. For example, when you adopt a particular attitude — such as a respectful attitude — you select that as a way to present yourself and behave as if it is natural.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

adopt adopts adopted adopting

People seem more likely to adopt its smart glasses made in collaboration with Ray-Ban because they’re called Meta, rather than Facebook, specs.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

Anthropic also acknowledges it is holding itself back: its safety measures "could slow our capability gains relative to competitors that do not adopt similar constraints."

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

Vallejo had been the first California municipality to adopt binding arbitration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Those stories may occasionally adopt the fantastical and beastly into their narratives, but at their core, they focus on love in its most fundamental, gratifying forms.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026

“We don’t have enough to eat or a proper place to sleep yet, and you want to adopt this orphan?”

From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman

Cong has bewildered opponents at weigh-ins while wearing the face paint, and says she even adopts the Joker alias when using social media messaging back home in China.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Another key element of the measure is establishing a two-year budget cycle for the city, which currently adopts its budget annually.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Mr. Van Dyk, an American, adopts a matter-of-fact, undemonstrative style characteristic of rigorous Northern European dramas that trust the audience to draw its own conclusions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

It adopts a helpful no-punishment philosophy: If you don’t meet your goals or you step away from the app for an extended amount of time, it only sends encouragement.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026

Some know a great deal about cars and will be offended by a salesman who adopts a patronizing tone.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Rule 5.4 of the ethics rules that govern lawyers, as adopted in nearly every jurisdiction, prohibits nonlawyers from owning law firms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

The Cordillera mountain region's animist residents adopted Christianity only after Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States in 1898, four centuries after Spanish friars had converted the people of the coasts to Catholicism.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Meanwhile, Michigan Democratic candidate for US Senate Abdul El-Sayed, who is in a highly competitive race against a Trump-backed former congressman, has adopted a consistent look of black V-neck T-shirt and blue jeans.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

It was a reclamation of beauty standards, in which icons like the Brat singer Teresa Covarrubias adopted the visual markers of shadow and decay, refusing to render themselves more easily readable or palatable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

It was as if he were a changeling, a troubled child not so secretly adopted by the Icelanders, but with love and without foreboding.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Excess weight carries established health risks, and the findings do not demonstrate that adopting such diets would improve cancer treatment in humans.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

Other High Street chains are adopting a more authentic approach, offering in-house repairs and workshops.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

The company is adopting measures to preserve cash as reducing debt remains the priority, they added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Voters in the Northern California city of Vallejo passed a ballot measure adopting binding arbitration with its public employee unions more than 50 years ago, following a bitter police strike.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Those details of typewriter, clock, and calendar design have not affected the competitive success of the societies adopting them.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023