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adapt.

To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/əˈdæpt/

  1. To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit.

    transitive

  2. To fit by alteration; to modify or remodel for a different purpose; to adjust.

    transitive
    to adapt a story for the stage
    to adapt an old machine to a new manufacture

  3. To make by altering or fitting something else; to produce by change of form or character.

    transitive
    to bring out a play adapted from the French
    a word of an adapted form

  4. To make oneself comfortable to a new thing.

    intransitive
    They could not adapt to the new climate and so perished.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *h₂ptós Proto-Italic *aptos Latin aptus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Proto-Indo-European [Term?]der. Proto-Italic *apjō Latin apiō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus ▲ Latin -ō Latin -tō Latin aptō Latin adaptōder. Middle English *adapten English adapt From Middle English *adapten (attested in Middle English adapted (past participle)), from Latin adaptāre (“to fit to”), from ad- (“to”) + aptāre (“to make fit”), from aptus (“fit”); see apt.

adj/əˈdæpt/

  1. Adapted; fit; suited; suitable; apt.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *h₂ptós Proto-Italic *aptos Latin aptus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Proto-Indo-European [Term?]der. Proto-Italic *apjō Latin apiō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus ▲ Latin -ō Latin -tō Latin aptō Latin adaptōder. Middle English *adapten English adapt From Middle English *adapten (attested in Middle English adapted (past participle)), from Latin adaptāre (“to fit to”), from ad- (“to”) + aptāre (“to make fit”), from aptus (“fit”); see apt.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.