adapt

Meanings

1. To change so as to fit a new situation.
2. To change something so that it suits a new purpose.

Example sentences

• "It took me a month to adapt to the new school."

  Level B1, Meaning 1

• "Animals adapt to their surroundings."

  Level B1, Meaning 1

• "The director adapted the novel for the stage."

  Level B2, Meaning 2

• "You can adapt this recipe for people who do not eat meat."

  Level B2, Meaning 2

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• adopt : Adopt means to take something as your own, such as an idea or a child. Adapt means to change something to fit.

Word family and forms

Forms: adapts, adapted, adapting

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "adapt".

• adapt to
• adapt quickly
• adapt a book
• adapt to change
• adapt a recipe
• easily adapted

Origin

Adapt comes from Latin adaptare, which meant to fit to. It is built from ad, meaning to, and aptare, meaning to make fit, from aptus, the source of the English word apt.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

"Adapt to" is the pattern most learners need, "adapt" alone without "to" usually takes an object, as in "adapt the recipe."

How to remember it

Adapt has "apt" in it, and apt means fit: when you adapt, you become apt for the new place.

Test yourself

Learn next at B1

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