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

• acclimatize
• accommodate
• adapt
• adjust
• condition
• conform
• doctor
• edit
• fashion
• fit
• put
• shape
• suit
• tailor

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

By the end of the week, the plants should be acclimated and ready to be transplanted outside. —Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Apr. 2025

The team traveled to L.A. on Monday to get acclimated to the time zone and to have an extra day for players, coaches and staff to bond off the field, Mascherano said. —Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025

Once the new crew members have acclimated and completed the necessary handover with Crew-9, Williams and Wilmore will return home, no earlier than March 19. —Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025

Cozens and Gilbert will have to get acclimated on the fly. —Julian McKenzie, The Athletic, 9 Mar. 2025

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
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

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