exaptation

American  

[eg-zap-tey-shuhn, ek-sap-] / ˌɛg zæpˈteɪ ʃən, ˌɛk sæp- /

noun

Biology.

1. a process in which a feature acquires a function that was not acquired through natural selection.

2. a feature having a function for which it was not originally adapted or selected.

3. a morphological or physiological feature that predisposes an organism to adapt to a different environment or lifestyle.

4. predisposition toward adaptation.

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Other Word Forms

• exapted adjective
• exaptive adjective

Example Sentences

That's not an exaptation, where the same structures that let them climb trees are applied to the new setting, but actual evolutionary adaptations.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2025

This kind of transfer of an evolutionary adaptation to a new context is called "exaptation."

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2025

The brain regions responsible for gesture could have been taken over by those used in speech through an evolutionary process called exaptation, wherein parts of an organism take on different or completely novel roles.

From Scientific American • May 26, 2023

This premise overlooks the existence of exaptation, in which traits evolved for one purpose are eventually used for other purposes.

From Scientific American • Jun. 27, 2012

Mobile elements provide an elegant mechanism for distributing a common sequence across the genome, which can then be retained in locations where it confers advantageous regulatory functions to the host—a process termed exaptation.

From Nature • Oct. 26, 2011