adapt

verb

\ ə-ˈdapt

, a-\

adapted; adapting; adapts

Definition of adapt

transitive verb

: to make fit (as for a new use) often by modification adapt the curriculum to students' needs

intransitive verb

: to become adapted adapt to a new enviroment

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about adapt

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Choose the Right Synonym for adapt

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

Examples of adapt in a Sentence

When children go to a different school, it usually takes them a while to adapt. She has adapted herself to college life quite easily. The camera has been adapted for underwater use. The clock was adapted to run on batteries. The movie was adapted from the book of the same title. adapting the movie for television

Recent Examples on the Web

That puts the onus on GE to adapt its debt to the cash flows that remain once the asset sales are complete, Mr. Lipsch wrote. — Nina Trentmann, WSJ, "GE’s Asset Sales Bode Well for Balance Sheet," 26 Feb. 2019 The new FoldiMate can now fold a full load of laundry made up of around 25 items in less than 5 minutes, all while automatically adapting to each clothing item type and size. — Brittney Morgan, House Beautiful, "You'll Never Have To Fold Your Laundry Again With The FoldiMate," 7 Jan. 2019 As the report notes, many local groups (whether cities, utilities, or communities) have already started to take action, putting together programs designed to adapt to or mitigate climate change. — Mary Beth Griggs, The Verge, "Report finds that climate change could cause ‘substantial damages’ to US," 23 Nov. 2018 Manager Jurgen Klopp admitted after the match that Fabinho needed 'a few more days' to adapt to the way Liverpool like to play. — SI.com, "Liverpool Fans Rave Over 'Classy' New Signing After Performance in Pre-Season Friendly," 11 July 2018 The experiment would help develop procedures so astronauts can adapt to the Red Planet after months of voyaging in microgravity, press secretary Oleg Voloshin told me on June 1 while giving me a tour. — Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, "Touring Where the Mars-500 'Astronauts' Pretended to Take a Red Planet Journey," 11 July 2018 The money will go toward upgrading the equipment, including adapting techniques from quantum mechanics to improve the lasers and taking advantage of new mirror coating technologies. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "LIGO Gravitational Wave Observatory Getting $30 Million Upgrade," 15 Feb. 2019 Makeup artists on Instagram have been adapting that artistic technique to their makeup by creating cat-eyes out of tons of tiny little dots. — Devon Abelman, Allure, "13 Unexpected Ways to Wear Winged Eyeliner That Are Taking Over Instagram," 14 Sep. 2018 Power, size and weight are three key challenges to adapting APS to U.S. military vehicles. — Allison Barrie, Fox News, "'Force field' technology could make US tanks unstoppable," 3 Aug. 2018

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

History and Etymology for adapt

Middle English adapted (as translation of Latin adaptātus), borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French adapter, borrowed from Latin adaptāre, from ad- ad- + aptāre "to put into position, bring to bear, make ready," verbal derivative of aptus "fastened, prepared, suitable" — more at apt entry 1