adopt

American  

[uh-dopt] / əˈdɒpt /

verb (used with object)

• adopts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• adopted,
  past participle,  past
• adopting
  present participle

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

   to adopt a nickname.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. to take or receive into any kind of new relationship.

   to adopt a person as a protégé.

5. to select as a basic or required textbook or series of textbooks in a course.

6. to vote to accept.

   The House adopted the report.

7. to accept or act in accordance with (a plan, principle, etc.).

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verb (used without object)

• adopts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• adopted,
  past participle,  past
• adopting
  present participle

1. to take a nonbiological child into one’s home and raise as one’s own.

2. 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

1. 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

1. law to bring (a person) into a specific relationship, esp to take (another's child) as one's own child

2. to choose and follow (a plan, technique, etc)

3. to take over (an idea, etc) as if it were one's own

4. to take on; assume

   to adopt a title

5. to accept (a report, etc)

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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

• adoptee
  noun
• adopter
  noun
• adoption
  noun
• nonadopter
  noun
• preadopt
  verb (used with object)
• quasi-adopt
  verb (used with object)
• readopt
  verb (used with object)
• quasi-adopted
  adjective
• unadopted
  adjective
• well-adopted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• adopting
  present
• adopted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• adopt
  simple
• adopts
  simple
• have adopted
  perfect
• has adopted
  perfect
• am adopting
  progressive
• are adopting
  progressive
• is adopting
  progressive
• have been adopting
  perfect progressive
• has been adopting
  perfect progressive

Past

• adopted
  simple
• had adopted
  perfect
• was adopting
  progressive
• were adopting
  progressive
• had been adopting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will adopt
  simple
• will have adopted
  perfect
• will be adopting
  progressive
• will have been adopting
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

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

For the most part, scholars in recent years have been reluctant to adopt the term ‘the Scientific Revolution’, and many have explicitly rejected it.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Moody’s left the rating unchanged on the assumption that France successfully adopts a deficit-reducing budget for 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

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

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

“Until California adopts comprehensive wildfire reforms to provide long-term certainty for customers, wildfire victims and utilities, the Legislature should not advance policies that increase regulatory uncertainty and customer costs,” PG&E spokesperson Jennifer Robison said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

He adopts the “do nothing” method of therapy.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

Barack Obama -- whose "Yes, we can" slogan he acknowledged he adopted from Dolores' "Sí se puede" -- awarded her the presidential medal of freedom when he was in the White House.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

To qualify as folly for this inquiry, the policy adopted must meet three criteria: it must have been perceived as counter-productive in its own time, not merely by hindsight .

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026

El-Sayed has adopted some of these same visual cues of traditional male behavior.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026

Widely adopted in the industry, the feature offered clues about how modern AI models work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

The report had included the line, “And so, that’s why it’s interesting that I’m adopted, because it makes me unique.”

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Rather than adopting the appearance of British or white American goths, Latinas playing with goth aesthetics forged an identity rooted directly in their own homes and neighborhoods, crafting a subculture all their own.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Berlin is "now adopting the approach of responding to crises, whether the pandemic or spikes in energy prices, with a massive increase in public spending", said Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

In search of relief, some recreational gym-goers are adopting the kind of recovery techniques once reserved for elite athletes.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

“Those organizations that are kind of stuck in the middle, that are adopting, but not quite, they seem to be struggling.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Not that I would have any objections to Hiroshi and Mayumi adopting me, if it weren't such a completely ridiculous thought.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

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Related Words

• accept
• approve
• embrace
• endorse
• follow
• maintain
• ratify
• select
• support
• take up
• use

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