adapt

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adapt

fit, adjust, alter, or modify: She will adapt the costume to fit.

Not to be confused with:

adept – thoroughly proficient; an expert: He is adept at landscaping difficult lots.

adopt – take another’s child as one’s own: I will adopt my late sister’s boy.; to accept: adopt a proposal

a·dapt

(ə-dăpt′)

v. a·dapt·ed, a·dapt·ing, a·dapts

v.tr.

1. To make suitable to or fit for a specific use or situation: adapted the novel into a movie; adapted the company policy to take internet use into account.

2. To cause to be able to survive and reproduce under certain conditions. Used in the passive: "Every species is adapted to a rather restricted selection of properties of the environment" (Ernst Mayr).

v.intr.

To become adapted: a species that has adapted to a low-oxygen environment.

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

a·dapt′ed·ness n.

Synonyms: adapt , accommodate , adjust , conform , fit¹
These verbs mean to make suitable to or consistent with a particular situation or use: adapted themselves to city life; can't accommodate myself to the new requirements; adjusting their behavior to the rules; conforming my life to accord with my moral principles; fitting the punishment to the crime.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

adapt

(əˈdæpt)

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.

[C17: from Latin adaptāre, from ad- to + aptāre to fit, from aptus apt]

aˈdaptable adj

aˌdaptaˈbility, aˈdaptableness n

aˈdaptive adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•dapt

(əˈdæpt)

v.t.

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

v.i.

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

[1605–15; < Latin adaptāre to fit, adjust. See ad-, apt]

a•dapt′ed•ness, n.

syn: See adjust.

adapt

Past participle: adapted
Gerund: adapting

Imperative
adapt
adapt

Present
I adapt
you adapt
he/she/it adapts
we adapt
you adapt
they adapt

Preterite
I adapted
you adapted
he/she/it adapted
we adapted
you adapted
they adapted

Present Continuous
I am adapting
you are adapting
he/she/it is adapting
we are adapting
you are adapting
they are adapting

Present Perfect
I have adapted
you have adapted
he/she/it has adapted
we have adapted
you have adapted
they have adapted

Past Continuous
I was adapting
you were adapting
he/she/it was adapting
we were adapting
you were adapting
they were adapting

Past Perfect
I had adapted
you had adapted
he/she/it had adapted
we had adapted
you had adapted
they had adapted

Future
I will adapt
you will adapt
he/she/it will adapt
we will adapt
you will adapt
they will adapt

Future Perfect
I will have adapted
you will have adapted
he/she/it will have adapted
we will have adapted
you will have adapted
they will have adapted

Future Continuous
I will be adapting
you will be adapting
he/she/it will be adapting
we will be adapting
you will be adapting
they will be adapting

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been adapting
you have been adapting
he/she/it has been adapting
we have been adapting
you have been adapting
they have been adapting

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been adapting
you will have been adapting
he/she/it will have been adapting
we will have been adapting
you will have been adapting
they will have been adapting

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been adapting
you had been adapting
he/she/it had been adapting
we had been adapting
you had been adapting
they had been adapting

Conditional
I would adapt
you would adapt
he/she/it would adapt
we would adapt
you would adapt
they would adapt

Past Conditional
I would have adapted
you would have adapted
he/she/it would have adapted
we would have adapted
you would have adapted
they would have adapted

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	adapt - make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose; "Adapt our native cuisine to the available food resources of the new country" accommodate vary, alter, change - become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence; "her mood changes in accordance with the weather"; "The supermarket's selection of vegetables varies according to the season" adjust - make correspondent or conformable; "Adjust your eyes to the darkness" gear, pitch - set the level or character of; "She pitched her speech to the teenagers in the audience" fit - insert or adjust several objects or people; "Can you fit the toy into the box?"; "This man can't fit himself into our work environment" anglicise, anglicize - make English in appearance; "She anglicised her name after moving from Paris to London" shoehorn - fit for a specific purpose even when not well suited tailor, orient - adjust to a specific need or market; "a magazine oriented towards young people"; "tailor your needs to your surroundings" domesticate, tame - make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans; "The horse was domesticated a long time ago"; "The wolf was tamed and evolved into the house dog" domesticate, tame, cultivate, naturalise, naturalize - adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment; "domesticate oats"; "tame the soil" Christianize - adapt in the name of Christianity; "some people want to Christianize ancient pagan sites" naturalise, naturalize - adopt to another place; "The stories had become naturalized into an American setting" electrify, wire - equip for use with electricity; "electrify an appliance" transcribe - rewrite or arrange a piece of music for an instrument or medium other than that originally intended
	2.	adapt - adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions; "We must adjust to the bad economic situation" conform, adjust change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" readjust, readapt - adjust anew; "After moving back to America, he had to readjust" readapt - adapt anew; "He readapted himself" assimilate - become similar to one's environment; "Immigrants often want to assimilate quickly" focalise, focalize, focus - become focussed or come into focus; "The light focused" acclimate, acclimatise, acclimatize - get used to a certain climate; "They never acclimatized in Egypt" match - be equal or harmonize; "The two pieces match" obey - be obedient to square - cause to match, as of ideas or acts

adapt

verb

1. adjust, change, match, alter, modify, accommodate, comply, conform, reconcile, harmonize, familiarize, habituate, acclimatize Things will be different and we will have to adapt.

2. convert, change, prepare, fit, fashion, make, shape, suit, qualify, transform, alter, modify, tailor, remodel, tweak (informal), metamorphose, customize Shelves were built to adapt the library for use as an office.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

adapt

verb

To make or become suitable to a particular situation or use:

acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, adjust, conform, fashion, fit, reconcile, square, suit, tailor.

Translations

يَتَكَيَّفُيُكَيِّف، يُلَائِم

přizpůsobit seupravit

tilpassebearbejde

anpassen bearbeiten adaptieren

προσαρμόζω

adaptar adaptarse

sopeutua

adapter ajuster s'adapter accommoder

prilagoditi

aîlaga

adattare adattarsi adeguare uniformare

適合させる

적응시키다

adapterisgarso ėmiklislengvai prisitaikantisprisitaikymasprisitaikyti

adaptētpielāgotpiemērot

aanpassen

adapterebearbeide omstille tilpasse

dostosować

adaptar

адаптировать адаптироваться приспосабливать(ся)

prireditiprivaditi se

anpassa

ปรับตัว

uyum sağlamakuyarlamak

thích nghi

改编使适应

adapt

[əˈdæpt]

A. VT

1. [+ machine] → ajustar, adaptar; [+ building] → remodelar
it is perfectly adapted to its environment → está adaptado perfectamente a su ambiente
to adapt o.s. to sth → adaptarse a algo, ajustarse a algo

2. [+ text] → adaptar
adapted from the Spanish → adaptado del español
adapted for the screen → adaptado para el cine or la pantalla
his novel was adapted for television → su novela fue adaptada para la televisión
a novel adapted by H. Campbell → una novela en versión de H. Campbell

B. VI → adaptarse

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

adapt

[əˈdæpt]

[+ building, room] → aménager

[+ novel, script, screenplay] → adapter
His novel was adapted for television → Son roman a été adapté pour la télévision.

to adapt o.s. → s'adapter
to adapt o.s. to sth → s'adapter à qch

vi → s'adapter
to adapt to sth → s'adapter à qch
He adapted to his new school very quickly → Il s'est adapté très vite à sa nouvelle école.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

adapt

vt → anpassen (→ to +dat); machine → umstellen (→ to, for auf +acc); vehicle, building → umbauen (to, for für); text, book → adaptieren, bearbeiten (for für); adapted to your requirements → nach Ihren Wünschen abgeändert; adapted for Arctic conditions → arktischen Verhältnissen angepasst; adapted for children/television → für Kinder/für das Fernsehen adaptiert or bearbeitet; adapted from the Spanish → aus dem Spanischen übertragen und bearbeitet

vi → sich anpassen (→ to +dat); (Sci also) → sich adaptieren (→ to an +acc)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

adapt

[əˈdæpt]

1. vt (machine) → modificare, fare delle modifiche a; (building) → trasformare; (text) → adattare
to adapt o.s. to sth → adattarsi a qc

2. vi to adapt (to) → adattarsi (a)

adapt

(əˈdӕpt) verb

to change or alter (so as to fit a different situation etc). She always adapted easily to new circumstances; He has adapted the play for television.

ˌadapˈtation (ӕ-) noun

aˈdaptable adjective

willing or able to change to fit in with different circumstances. Children are usually very adaptable.

aˌdaptaˈbility noun

aˈdaptor noun

a device which enables an electrical plug of one type to be used in a socket of another type, or several plugs to be used in the same socket at the same time.

adapt

→ يَتَكَيَّفُ přizpůsobit se tilpasse anpassen (sich) προσαρμόζω adaptar, adaptarse sopeutua s'adapter prilagoditi adattarsi 適合させる 적응시키다 aanpassen tilpasse dostosować adaptar приспосабливать(ся) anpassa ปรับตัว uyum sağlamak thích nghi 改编

adapt

vt. adaptar;

vr. adaptarse, ajustarse.

adapt

vt, vi adaptar(se)

References in classic literature ?

Natural selection may modify and adapt the larva of an insect to a score of contingencies, wholly different from those which concern the mature insect.

View in context

Just as he was on the point of being eaten, the Crab said, "I well deserve my fate, for what business had I on the land, when by my nature and habits I am only adapted for the sea?'

View in context

"But, sir, he seems peculiarly adapted to this business."

View in context

It is evident from what has been said, that a herile and a political government are not the same, or that all governments are alike to each other, as some affirm; for one is adapted to the nature of freemen, the other to that of slaves.

View in context

Premising this, I proceed to lay it down as a rule, that one man of discernment is better fitted to analyze and estimate the peculiar qualities adapted to particular offices, than a body of men of equal or perhaps even of superior discernment.

View in context

An anchor is a forged piece of iron, admirably adapted to its end, and technical language is an instrument wrought into perfection by ages of experience, a flawless thing for its purpose.

View in context

By discarding a claim to knowledge of the ultimate purpose, we shall clearly perceive that just as one cannot imagine a blossom or seed for any single plant better suited to it than those it produces, so it is impossible to imagine any two people more completely adapted down to the smallest detail for the purpose they had to fulfill, than Napoleon and Alexander with all their antecedents.

View in context

He said that, the people of their island had their ears adapted to hear "the music of the spheres, which always played at certain periods, and the court was now prepared to bear their part, in whatever instrument they most excelled."

View in context

Lynn and Sedley received fashion papers from Paris once a week and adapted the costumes illustrated in them to the needs of their customers.

View in context

The Greystoke bungalow was not well adapted for defense.

View in context

Of the various kinds of words, the compound are best adapted to Dithyrambs, rare words to heroic poetry, metaphors to iambic.

View in context

Less figuratively speaking, he came up into the printing-office to expose from the book the nefarious plagiarism of an editor in a neighboring city, who had adapted with the change of names and a word or two here and there, whole passages from the essay on Barere, to the denunciation of a brother editor.