adapt

American  

[uh-dapt] / əˈdæpt /

verb (used with object)

1. to make suitable to requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly.

   They adapted themselves to the change quickly.

   He adapted the novel for movies.

   Synonyms:

   convert, rework, modify, conform, reconcile, suit, accommodate, fit

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verb (used without object)

1. to adjust oneself to different conditions, environment, etc..

   to adapt easily to all circumstances.

adapt British  

/ əˈdæpt /

verb

1. (often foll by to) to adjust (someone or something, esp oneself) to different conditions, a new environment, etc

2. (tr) to fit, change, or modify to suit a new or different purpose

   to adapt a play for use in schools

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Related Words

See adjust.

Other Word Forms

• adaptability noun
• adaptable adjective
• adaptedness noun
• adaptive adjective
• misadapt verb
• nonadapting adjective
• readapt verb (used with object)
• unadapted adjective
• well-adapted adjective

Etymology

Origin of adapt

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin adaptāre “to fit, adjust,” perhaps via French adapter; ad-, apt

Explanation

Say you move to a country where everyone cooks with lots of hot peppers. At first the food scalds your tongue, but over time you adapt — you change in a way that allows you to deal with the new circumstances. Adapt comes from the ancient word ap, which means "take" or "grasp." Ap is even older than Latin — it comes from a lost language that was spoken by the common ancestors of modern-day Indians and Europeans and has since been reconstructed by linguists, who named it the Proto-Indo-European language, or PIE. So what does adapt have to do with grasp? If you adapt to, say, a new country, it's as though you're grabbing hold of its strange, slippery customs.

Example Sentences

Mayor Karen Bass released a new plan Thursday setting goals for the city to combat climate change and adapt to a warmer future.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

The machine doesn’t adapt to its new circumstances.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026

MacBeath said the new system would adapt some existing elements such as food support, housing and customer services, and was "an opportunity to fund these properly and connect them together to meet needs".

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

"These results are an important piece of the larger puzzle of what is going on in the overall population as they attempt to adapt to climate change in real time."

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

“The Night Bazaar has had to adapt, change form, and account for things like families moving to new countries and imaginations evolving,” explained Boo.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

Related Words

• acclimate
• accommodate
• accustom
• alter
• comply
• conform
• fit
• modify
• prepare
• readjust
• revise
• shape
• suit
• tailor