accommodate

verb ac·com·mo·date \ ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt \

Updated on: 13 May 2018

Definition of accommodate

accommodated; accommodating

transitive verb

1 : to provide with something desired, needed, or suited

I needed money, and they accommodated me with a loan.

2 a : to make room for

rebuilt the ship to accommodate the bigger containers

b : to hold without crowding or inconvenience

a hotel that can accommodate about 100 people

3 : to bring into agreement or concord : reconcile

Investors quickly accommodated themselves to the new market conditions.

4 : to give consideration to : to allow for

trying to accommodate the special interests of various groups

5 : to make fit, suitable, or congruous

intransitive verb

: to adapt oneself; also : to undergo visual accommodation

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accommodative

play \-ˌdā-tiv\ adjective

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accommodativeness

noun

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accommodator

play \-ˌdā-tər\ noun

See accommodate defined for English-language learners

See accommodate defined for kids

Examples of accommodate in a Sentence

Although Lost World was the hottest movie around, we saw it in a chamber of almost laughable minuteness, barely large enough to accommodate nine rows of seats, which were grudgingly padded … —Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999
… a farmhouse that has been redone to accommodate both good English antiques and luxe 20th-century comforts without sacrificing any of its rough-hewn charm. —Francine Prose, Travel & Leisure, December 1994
The young-adult horror authors tend to be too busy accommodating MTV attention spans to create vivid personalities … —Ken Tucker, New York Times Book Review, 14 Nov. 1993
… political authority depended on tribal leadership, and the scholars had to accommodate themselves to it. —Ernest Gellner, Culture, Identity, and Politics, 1987
Over 600 people can be accommodated on the cruise ship.
The ceilings were too low to accommodate his terrific height.
They were kind enough to accommodate me with a ride to the train station.
I asked them for additional money, and they accommodated me with a loan.
He would often change his schedule to accommodate his clients.
New facilities are being added to accommodate the special needs of elderly residents.
Smart investors quickly accommodated to the new market conditions.

Recent Examples of accommodate from the Web

The ride will have a minimum height requirement of 42 inches and will accommodate up to four riders per raft.

— dewayne bevil, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Aquatica's Ray Rush water slide opens Saturday," 7 May 2018
Walk-ins will be accommodated as time permits, organizers said.

— jesse leavenworth, Courant Community, "Trace Your Roots At Family History Day In Manchester," 7 May 2018
Elevators at the two-story complex will also accommodate seniors with physical limitations.

— julie gallant, Ramona Sentinel, "Dignitaries break ground for senior housing complex," 2 May 2018
The dinner will accommodate just nine guests at The Sushi Bar.

— rosemary mcclure, latimes.com, "Try Nobu's famous Japanese-Peruvian fusion cooking on Crystal Cruises voyage," 26 Apr. 2018
The facility will eventually accommodate more than 2,800 admissions a year and employ 150 workers, including recreational therapists, registered nurses, social services staff and mental health technicians, according to the release.

— maria clark, NOLA.com, "Ochsner, Acadia Healthcare open new behavioral health center in LaPlace," 24 Apr. 2018
But the Red Bulls' interest in accommodating kids with autism and other special needs goes beyond a room.

— anne m. peterson, chicagotribune.com, "Red Bulls focus on aaccommodating fans with special needs," 19 Apr. 2018
Located in an agricultural region 160 kilometers (or about 100 miles) northwest of Nanchang, Jiangxi’s capital, Lushan Primary School will serve 12 local villages with a total population of 1,800 people and will accommodate 120 children.

— lauren ro, Curbed, "Zaha Hadid Architects designs vaulted school in China made by robots," 19 Apr. 2018
Although Trump has been accused of being too accommodating toward Putin, McMaster, in his speech, praised the president for standing up to tyrants.

— john harney, Bloomberg.com, "McMaster Denounces Putin and His 'Pernicious Form of Aggression'," 4 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accommodate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of accommodate

borrowed from Latin accommodātus, past participle of accommodāre "to fit on, apply, make agree, make suitable, adapt," from ad- ad- + commodāre "to lend, hire, put at the disposal (of), provide," derivative of commodus "convenient, suitable" — more at commode

Note: In part a latinization of Middle French accommoder; John Palsgrave (Lʼéclaircissement de la langue française, 1530) renders accommodate with accommoder.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1538

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 5

See Words from the same year

accommodate Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of accommodate

adapt, adjust, accommodate, conform, reconcile mean to bring one thing into correspondence with another. adapt implies a modification according to changing circumstances.

- adapted themselves to the warmer climate

adjust suggests bringing into a close and exact correspondence or harmony such as exists between parts of a mechanism.

- adjusted the budget to allow for inflation

accommodate may suggest yielding or compromising to effect a correspondence.

- accommodated his political beliefs in order to win

conform applies to bringing into accordance with a pattern, example, or principle.

- refused to conform to society's values

reconcile implies the demonstration of the underlying compatibility of things that seem to be incompatible.

- tried to reconcile what he said with what I knew

contain, hold, accommodate mean to have or be capable of having within. contain implies the actual presence of a specified substance or quantity within something.

- the can contains a quart of oil

hold implies the capacity of containing or the usual or permanent function of containing or keeping.

- the bookcase will hold all my textbooks

accommodate stresses holding without crowding or inconvenience.

- the hall can accommodate 500 people

ACCOMMODATE Defined for English Language Learners

accommodate

verb

Definition of accommodate for English Language Learners

: to provide room for (someone) : to provide a place to stay and sleep for (someone)
: to have room for (someone or something)
: to do something helpful for (someone) : to provide what is needed or wanted for (someone or something)

ACCOMMODATE Defined for Kids

accommodate

verb ac·com·mo·date \ ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt \

Definition of accommodate for Students

accommodated; accommodating

1 : to provide with a place to stay or sleep

accommodate guests

2 : to provide with something needed : help out

My teacher will change her schedule to accommodate her students.

3 : to have room for

The bus accommodates 40 people.

Medical Dictionary

accommodate

intransitive verb ac·com·mo·date \ ə-ˈkäm-ə-ˌdāt \

medical Definition of accommodate

accommodated; accommodating

: to adapt oneself; also : to undergo visual accommodation

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accommodative

play \-ˌdāt-iv\ adjective

Law Dictionary

accommodate

transitive verb ac·com·mo·date \ ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt \

legal Definition of accommodate

accommodated; accommodating

1 : to make a change or provision for

accommodate a disability

— see also reasonable accommodation

2 : to accept without compensation responsibility for a debt of (another person) in the event of nonpayment as a way of reassuring a reluctant creditor — see also accommodation paper at paper, accommodation party at party 1a

Note: To accommodate a debtor effectively, the party must sign the debt instrument, adding words describing limitations or conditions to the accommodation, if any.

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