preadapt

American

[pree-uh-dapt] / ˌpri əˈdæpt /

verb (used without object)

Biology.

to undergo pre-adaptation.

Other Word Forms

preadaptable adjective

Etymology

Origin of preadapt

First recorded in 1840–50; pre- + adapt

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.

A living being has to know the world external to himself in order to adapt and preadapt himself to it, for it is in this outer world that he finds food, shelter, beings of his own species, and the means of work, and it is on this world of objects that he acts in every possible way by the contractions of his muscles.

From Project Gutenberg

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