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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

adopt.

To take (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.) by choice into a relationship.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/əˈdɒpt/Received-Pronunciation/əˈdɑpt/General-American
  1. To take (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.) by choice into a relationship. To take voluntarily (a child of other parents) to be in the place of, or as, one's own child.

    transitive
    A friend of mine recently adopted a Chinese baby girl found on the streets of Beijing.
  2. To take (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.) by choice into a relationship. To obtain (a pet) from a shelter or the wild.

    transitive
    We're going to adopt a Dalmatian.
  3. To take (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.) by choice into a relationship. To contribute towards the upkeep of (a child or animal), in exchange for occasional stories, pictures, etc.

    transitive
    We adopted an elephant at the local zoo.
  4. To take (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.) by choice into a relationship. To take by choice into the scope of one's responsibility.

    transitive
    This supermarket chain adopts several families every Yuletide, providing them with money and groceries for the holidays.
  5. To take or receive as one's own what is not so naturally.

    transitive
    He adopted a new look in order to fit in with his new workmates.
  6. To select and take or approve.

    transitive
    to adopt the view or policy of another
    These are resolutions that were adopted.
  7. To beat an opponent ten times in a row.

    slang · transitive
    The match was not even close; the IM made amateurish blunders and ended up getting adopted.
Where this word comes from

From Middle French adopter, from Latin adoptō; ad + optō (“to choose, desire”), equivalent to ad- + opt.

noun/əˈdɒpt/Received-Pronunciation/əˈdɑpt/General-American
  1. Clipping of adoptable.

    abbreviation · alt-of · clipping · informal · transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle French adopter, from Latin adoptō; ad + optō (“to choose, desire”), equivalent to ad- + opt.

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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.