adapt

verb \ ə-ˈdapt , a- \

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

See adapt defined for English-language learners

See adapt defined for kids

adapt was our Word of the Day on 09/27/2011. Hear the podcast!

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 of adapt from the Web

Fire ants are native to South America and adapted to surviving in flood plains in the wetlands of Brazil.

— christine hauser, The Seattle Times, "About those floating fire ants that surfaced when Harvey hit," 30 Aug. 2017
Over time, the offense has been adapted to the shotgun-heavy, fast-break style that is now commonplace in football.

— rainer sabin, AL.com, "How the coach who followed Bear Bryant still has his fingerprints on Alabama," 29 Aug. 2017
Teeny weenies in blanket Adapted from a Pillsbury recipe.

— lisa futterman, chicagotribune.com, "Retro, super-processed and a bit ribald, cocktail weenies nevertheless delight," 28 Aug. 2017
New research from Oregon State University suggests that blue whales are learning to adapt by changing the frequency of their songs.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "The Ocean Is So Noisy, Whales Are Starting to Talk on a New Frequency," 24 Aug. 2017
Runyon, the wise-cracking writer whose stories were adapted after his death into the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, recast Pride as something more than the story of a brave, modest ballplayer and his beloved wife.

— richard sandomir, vanityfair.com, "The Pride of the Yankees and the Night the Lights Went Out in Hollywood," 18 Aug. 2017
That, plus Destiny briefly sort-of pops up on Steam, Total Warhammer II adds the ratlike Skaven, and Civilization gets adapted into board game form.

— hayden dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: Destiny "accidentally" pops up on Steam, Civilization goes tabletop, and Animal Farm gets a game adaptation," 18 Aug. 2017
This production of Dawn marks the first time her work has been adapted for the screen.

— julie kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Ava DuVernay Will Adapt Octavia Butler's "Dawn" for Her Next TV Show," 9 Aug. 2017
There’s a reason that bacterial resistance is a major public health problem: Bacteria are hardy foes that adapt rapidly to the changing environment of you.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "This Is Why Taking Fish Medicine Is Truly a Bad Idea," 30 July 2017

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.

Did You Know?

Rooted in the origins of "adapt" is the idea of becoming specifically "fit" for something. English speakers adapted "adapt" in the 15th century from the French adapter, which itself traces to the Latin forms aptare, meaning "to fit," and aptus, meaning "fit" or "apt." Other descendants of "aptus" in English include "aptitude," "inept," and of course "apt" itself, as well as "unapt" and "inapt."

Origin and Etymology of adapt

French or Latin; French adapter, from Latin adaptare, from ad- + aptare to fit, from aptus apt, fit

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

adapt Synonyms

Synonyms

acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, adjust, condition, conform, doctor, edit, fashion, fit, put, shape, suit, tailor

Near Antonyms

misadjust

Synonym Discussion of 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

ADAPT Defined for English Language Learners

adapt

verb

Definition of adapt for English Language Learners

: to change your behavior so that it is easier to live in a particular place or situation
: to change (something) so that it functions better or is better suited for a purpose
: to change (a movie, book, play, etc.) so that it can be presented in another form

ADAPT Defined for Kids

adapt

verb \ ə-ˈdapt \

Definition of adapt for Students

adapted; adapting

1 :to change behavior so that it is easier to function in a particular place or situation

He easily adapted to high school.

2 :to make or become suitable or able to function

The camera was adapted for underwater use.

Word Root of adapt

The Latin word aptus, meaning “fit” or “suitable,” gives us the root apt or ept. Words from the Latin aptus have something to do with being fitting or suitable. Something apt fits just right into a situation. To adapt is to change in order to fit a situation better. Someone who is adept has suitable skills to perform a task well, while someone who is inept does not.