acclimate

verb

ac·​cli·​mate ˈa-klə-ˌmāt 

ə-ˈklī-mət, 

-ˌmāt 

acclimated; acclimating

transitive verb

: to adapt (someone) to a new temperature, altitude, climate, environment, or situation

They had to acclimate themselves to an urban lifestyle.

slowly becoming acclimated to a new environment

intransitive verb

: to adjust or adapt to a new temperature, climate, environment, or situation : to become acclimated

climbers gradually acclimating to the high altitude

Synonyms of acclimate

• adjust
• adapt
• tailor
• conform
• put

Examples of acclimate in a Sentence

I acclimated myself to the hot weather.

You might need to acclimate your plants to bright sunlight gradually.

We took a few days to get acclimated to our new teacher.

Recent Examples on the Web

Flemings did good things on both sides of the ball, especially after re-acclimating to the game. — Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 8 July 2026

Remember to acclimate, hydrate and change your routine as needed. — Christa Sgobba, Washington Post, 2 July 2026

Few could’ve foreseen such flair after Imai’s first five starts, a stretch fraught with problems acclimating to major-league life both on and off the field. — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 1 July 2026

Gradually acclimating an indoor ficus to bright light is key. — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French acclimater, from a-, prefix forming transitive verbs (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + climat "climate" (going back to Old French) — more at climate

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for acclimate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

Kids Definition

acclimate

verb

ac·​cli·​mate ˈak-lə-ˌmāt  ə-ˈklī-mət 

-ˌmāt

acclimated; acclimating

: to adapt to a new climate, environment, or situation

acclimation

ˌak-lə-ˈmā-shən, 

ˌak-ˌlī-

noun

Medical Definition

acclimate

verb

ac·​cli·​mate ˈak-lə-ˌmāt; ə-ˈklī-mət  -ˌmāt 

acclimated; acclimating

: acclimatize