Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To make suitable to or fit for a specific use or situation.
  • intransitive verb To cause to be able to survive and reproduce under certain conditions. Used in the passive.
  • intransitive verb To become adapted.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To make suitable; make to correspond; fit or suit; proportion.
  • To fit by alteration; modify or remodel for a different purpose: as, to adapt a story or a foreign play for the stage; to adapt an old machine to a new manufacture. To make by altering or fitting something else; produce by change of form or character: as, to bring out a play adapted from the French; a word of an adapted form.
  • Same as immunize.
  • Adapted; fit; suitable.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Fitted; suited.
  • transitive verb To make suitable; to fit, or suit; to adjust; to alter so as to fit for a new use; -- sometimes followed by to or for.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit; to proportion.
  • verb transitive To fit by alteration; to modify or remodel for a different purpose; to adjust: as, to adapt a story or a foreign play for the stage; to adapt an old machine to a new manufacture.
  • verb transitive To make by altering or fitting something else; to produce by change of form or character: as, to bring out a play adapted from the French; a word of an adapted form.
  • verb intransitive To change oneself so as to be adapted.
  • adjective Adapted; fit; suited; suitable.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose
  • verb adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English adapten, from Latin adaptāre : ad-, ad- + aptāre, to fit (from aptus, fitting; see apt).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French adapter, from Latin adaptare ("to fit to"), from ad ("to") + aptare ("to make fit"), from aptus ("fit"); see apt.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word adapt.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • add to 'apt' (list) adapt

    July 1, 2011