Meaning & use
adapt
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To change your behavior, ideas, or habits so you can deal with a new situation successfully.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by to: adapt to a new school.
Patterns
- adapt to something
- adapt to doing something
- adapt quickly/easily
It took me a month to adapt to the colder climate.
Children often adapt to change faster than adults expect.
After two weeks abroad, she adapted to eating dinner late.
verbtransitive
To change something so it fits a new purpose, condition, or group of users.
Grammar: Takes an object; often adapt something for something: adapt the lesson for beginners.
Patterns
- adapt something for something
- adapt something to something
- adapt something from something
The teacher adapted the test for students with reading difficulties.
Engineers adapted the design to survive strong winds.
We adapted an old barn into a small guesthouse.
verbtransitive
To change a book, play, film, or other work into a new form.
Grammar: Takes an object; commonly adapt something from or for a medium.
Patterns
- adapt something from something
- adapt something for television/film
- be adapted into something
The series was adapted from a bestselling novel.
She is adapting the play for radio.
The novel was adapted into a successful film.
Word forms
| third person singular | adapts |
|---|---|
| past tense | adapted |
| past participle | adapted |
| -ing form | adapting |
Common combinations
- adapt to change
- Good teams adapt to change without losing focus.
- adapt something for a new use
- They adapted the warehouse for use as a library.
- adapt quickly
- New employees must adapt quickly to unfamiliar tools.
- adapt from a novel
- The film was adapted from a novel set in the mountains.
- adapt well to something
- The plant adapts well to dry soil.
Synonyms and how they differ
- adjust
- Very close in meaning; adjust often suggests smaller changes to fit conditions, while adapt can suggest deeper or longer-term change.
- acclimate
- Used especially for getting used to a new climate, place, or situation; more limited than adapt.
- modify
- Focuses on changing the thing itself, while adapt can mean changing yourself or changing something else.
- convert
- Suggests changing form or function completely, often physically; adapt is broader and less final.
Opposites
Word family
- adaptation noun
- The process of adapting or a changed version of a work.
- adaptable adjective
- Able to adapt easily to new conditions.
- adaptability noun
- The quality of being able to adapt.
- adaptive adjective
- Relating to adjustment or designed to adjust.
Commonly confused: adapt or adopt?
adapt vs adopt
Adapt means change to fit; adopt means choose, accept, or legally take something, such as a child, idea, or method.
Practice
Choose the best sentence.
Choose one answer.
Adapt to is the correct pattern for getting used to a situation. “Adapt the job” would mean changing the job itself, and adopt to is not the right verb for adjustment.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “adapt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.