accommodate

verb ac·com·mo·date \ ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt \

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

And while that was an especially large number, Ronald Reagan has been steadily accommodating more and more Venezuelan students over the past several years.

— kyra gurney, miamiherald, "As crisis deepens in Venezuela, fleeing students flood classrooms in Miami-Dade," 26 Aug. 2017
Verma leads the storage team at Facebook, the group charged with making sure that the social network can accommodate its daily deluge without losing someone’s wedding photos.

— matt day, The Seattle Times, "Facebook’s invisible Seattle team wrangles the digital deluge," 18 Aug. 2017
The Co-Working Space accommodates collaborative seating and private offices for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs.

— katie stompor, Post-Tribune, "Encouraging entrepreneurs with new PNW Co-Working Space," 17 Aug. 2017
Perhaps the most obvious change will be the early December games, a quirk designed to accommodate the tournament’s one-year move to Madison Square Garden.

— zach osterman, The Courier-Journal, "This year's Big Ten basketball schedule will be like none before it," 16 Aug. 2017
Some ride manufacturers will add wider seats to accommodate bigger guests.

— william thornton, AL.com, "Blue Bell resurrects another ice cream flavor," 27 July 2017
The company will lease a larger office to accommodate the increased staff.

— kelly mcbride, Cincinnati.com, "LendKey to expand in Blue Ash, triple staff," 25 July 2017
Alpha has been built to accommodate Earthlings of all races and nationalities, because Earth itself has gotten too crowded.

— dave holmes, Esquire, "I Went to See Valerian and It Abused All of My Senses," 24 July 2017
Abbey Road also hosts regular dining events, concerts, and weddings (the grounds can accommodate events for as many as 1,000 people!).

— lauren matthews, Country Living, "These Farm Silos Were Converted Into the Most Charming Bed and Breakfast," 14 July 2017

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

See Words from the same year

accommodate Synonyms

Synonyms

fit, hold, take

Antonyms

disharmonize

Related Words

carry, contain, seat; enclose (also inclose), encompass, enfold; harbor, house

Near Antonyms

confuse, disarray, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, skew, upset; alienate, estrange

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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