adapta‧dapt /əˈdæpt/ ●●○ W3 verb 
The children are finding it hard to adapt to the new school. flowers which are well adapted to harsh winters The ability to adapt is a definite asset in this job.adapt yourself/itself etc (to something) How do these insects adapt themselves to new environments?2[transitive] to change something to make it suitable for a different purposeadapt something to do something The car has been adapted to take unleaded gas.adapt something for somebody These teaching materials can be adapted for older children.3[transitive] if a book or play is adapted for film, television etc, it is changed so that it can be made into a film, television programme etcbe adapted for something Many children buy books after they have been adapted for television.GRAMMAR Adapt is usually passive in this meaning.—adapted adjective: She lives in a specially adapted flat.
WORD ORIGINadapt
Origin:
1400-1500 French adapter, from Latin adaptare, from ad- ‘to’ + aptare ‘to make fit’, from aptus; ➔ APTVERB TABLE
adapt
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | adapt |
| he, she, it | adapts | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | adapted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have adapted |
| he, she, it | has adapted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had adapted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will adapt |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have adapted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am adapting |
| he, she, it | is adapting | |
| you, we, they | are adapting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was adapting |
| you, we, they | were adapting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been adapting |
| he, she, it | has been adapting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been adapting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be adapting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been adapting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Le Carré's latest novel is soon to be adapted for television.
- The materials in the book can be adapted for use with older children.
- The movie was adapted by Forsyth from his own bestselling novel.
- These recipes can be easily adapted to suit vegetarians.
- They have adapted their house so they can look after their disabled son more easily.
- As the nature of insider dealing changed, there was a corresponding need to adapt other legal doctrines to fit the abuse.
- His typewriter was adapted to provide keys for mathematical symbols.
- In adapting to this expanded role the auditor faces many difficulties.
- Punishment must be fitted, closely tailored to the state of the spirit, adapted to the need of the soul.
- Supposedly, these are the ones that are best adapted to the area, and therefore grow happily without much help.
- This in turn made it a simple matter to adapt Watt's engine to provide rotary motion.
- Yet there was an opening for Rice if he carefully adapted his power strategies to the political situation.
Longman Language Activatorto change something for a particular use or purpose
to change something so that it can be used in a different way: · They have adapted their house so they can look after their disabled son more easily.· The movie was adapted by Forsyth from his own bestselling novel.adapt for: · The materials in the book can be adapted for use with older children.adapt something to do something: · These recipes can be easily adapted to suit vegetarians.
to make small changes to something such as a piece of equipment, a set of ideas, or a way of behaving in order to improve it or to make it more suitable for a particular purpose: · We can modify the design to make it suitable for commercial production.· We all modify our speech when speaking to people in authority.genetically modify (=change the genes of plants or animals): · The biotech corporations argue that genetically modified crops will put an end to food shortages in the developing world.
to change something completely so that it has a different form and can be used for a different purpose: · We've converted the basement to give the children more room to play.convert something into something: · A Swiss company has found a way to convert animal waste into fuel.· This computer system converts typed words into speech.
also customise British to change something, such as a car or a piece of equipment, to suit a particular person or group of people: · General Motors will customize Cadillacs for special clients.· The computer programs can be customised for individual users.· customized software
to gradually become used to something · Once you get used to a routine, it's hard to change.· Paul had finally gotten used to Heidi's mood swings.get used to (doing) something · Mary never really got used to living on her own after her husband died.· It took me a while to get used to the casual atmosphere in the office.
formal written to get used to something: · After a while Edward's eyes grew accustomed to the dark.· Living so near the airport, they've grown accustomed to the sound of planes overhead.become/grow accustomed to doing something: · She had become accustomed to cooking for everyone in the house.· Larry remained completely relaxed - he was accustomed to dealing with difficult customers.
to get gradually used to a new situation, by changing your attitudes or the way you do things: · It took us a while to adjust to the tropical climate.· Some of the staff found it hard to adjust to all the changes in technology and working methods.adjust to doing something: · Kids need help to adjust to having a new baby in the house.
to gradually change your behaviour and attitudes, so that you get used to a new situation and can deal with it effectively: · Slowly the country is adapting to the new market economy.adapt to doing something: · She adapted remarkably well to eating a limited diet, and she's lost a great deal of weight.· After living in a house with a garden, it's hard to adapt to living in a flat.
also acclimatise/become acclimatised British, also acclimate/become acclimated American to get used to a new place or a different type of weather: · When first arriving in the Himalayas, mountaineers must give themselves time to acclimatize.acclimatize/become acclimatized to: · As the immigrants became acclimatized to life in America, they abandoned some of their old traditions.· I flew to Hong Kong a day early to give myself a chance to acclimatise to the time difference.get acclimatized/acclimatised/acclimated: · The team wants to have a few practices to get acclimated to the ball park.acclimatize/acclimatise/acclimate yourself: · After a while, if you acclimatise yourself to the heat, you can get by with two canteens of water a day.
WORD SETSacrostic, nounadapt, verballiteration, nounanagram, nounannual, nounanthology, nounantihero, nounapologia, nounappendix, nounassonance, nounauthorship, nounautobiography, nounballad, nounbard, nounbathos, nounbiography, nounblank verse, nounbowdlerize, verbburlesque, nouncaesura, nouncameo, nouncanon, nouncanto, nouncaricature, nounchapter, nouncharacterization, nouncitation, nounclimax, nounclimax, verbcoda, nouncollected, adjectiveconceit, nouncorpus, nouncouplet, nouncritique, noundactyl, noundeclamatory, adjectivedeconstruction, noundense, adjectivedevice, noundialogue, noundiarist, noundiction, noundigest, noundoggerel, noundraft, noundraft, verbdrama, noundub, nounelegy, nounending, nounepic, adjectiveepigram, nounepilogue, nounepistolary, adjectiveepitaph, nounessay, nounessayist, nouneulogy, nounexegesis, nounfable, nounfairy tale, nounfantasy, nounfiction, nounfictional, adjectivefirst edition, nounfirst person, nounflashback, nounflorid, adjectiveflowery, adjectivefolk, adjectiveforeword, nounformulaic, adjectivefree verse, nounghost story, nounGothic, adjectivegrandiloquent, adjectivehaiku, nounheroic, adjectiveheroic couplet, nounhexameter, nounhumorist, nounhyperbole, nouniamb, nouniambic pentameter, nounimage, nounimagery, nouninformal, adjectiveingénue, nouninstalment, nounirony, nounjournal, nounlay, nounlimerick, nounlit., literary, adjectiveliterature, nounlyric, adjectivelyric, nounlyrical, adjectivelyricism, nounman of letters, nounmanuscript, nounmetaphor, nounmetaphorical, adjectivemetre, nounmetrical, adjectivemonologue, nounnarrative, nounnarrator, nounnaturalism, nounnaturalistic, adjectivenom de plume, nounnovel, nounnovelist, nounnovella, nounnursery rhyme, nounode, nounonomatopoeia, nounpadding, nounpaean, nounparagraph, nounparaphrase, verbparaphrase, nounparenthetical, adjectivepassage, nounpathetic fallacy, nounpen name, nounpentameter, nounperiphrasis, nounperoration, nounpicaresque, adjectiveplaywright, nounplot, nounpoem, nounpoet, nounpoetess, nounpoetic, adjectivepoetic licence, nounpoet laureate, nounpoetry, nounpolemic, nounpolemical, adjectivepotboiler, nounprécis, nounpreface, nounprefatory, adjectiveprologue, nounprose, nounprosody, nounprotagonist, nounpseudonym, nounpulp, nounquatrain, nounquotation, nounquote, verbreading, nounrecite, verbrendition, nounrevise, verbrevision, nounrhetoric, nounrhyme, nounrhyme, verbromance, nounsaga, nounsatire, nounsatirist, nounscience fiction, nounscribbler, nounscript, nounself-portrait, nounSF, Shakespearean, adjectiveshort story, nounsimile, nounsoliloquy, nounsonnet, nounstanza, nounstilted, adjectivestory, nounstream of consciousness, nounstylist, nounsubplot, nounsubtitle, nounsuperhero, nounsurrealism, nounsurrealistic, adjectivesynopsis, nountailpiece, nountale, nountalking book, nountearjerker, nountext, nountextual, adjectivetexture, nountheme, nounthriller, nountitle, nountragedian, nountragedy, nountragic, adjectivetragicomedy, nountrope, nounturgid, adjectiveunabridged, adjectiveverse, nounvignette, nounvolume, nounweepy, nounwell-turned, adjectivewhodunit, nounwriter, nounwriter's block, nounyarn, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY flowers which are well adapted to harsh wintersCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
flowers which are well adapted to harsh winters· Those that became extinct were replaced by better adapted ones.· It favors species better adapted to their environments and kills off those less suitable.· As better adapted successors emerge, others are forced into a corner.· Children develop the capacity to see the view of others, consider intentions, and better adapt to the social world.· The independent Red Army press was rather better adapted to its readership.
· Land use itself also quickly adapts to price signals, and the economic margin of cultivation can therefore change very rapidly.· After initially responding to new smells, they quickly adapt and stop responding once the smell becomes familiar.· During the six months I spent there I realised how important it was to adapt quickly.· As we will see in more detail in the next chapter, the body adapts quickly to caffeine.· Malayan barn owls are adapting quickly to this rich habitat and are reproducing much faster than elsewhere.
· In aquatic insects they are often specially adapted as swimming organs.· Squid have no penises at all, using a specially adapted arm instead.· The Montegos have been specially adapted to cope with the extreme climate.· As you can see, we have specially adapted the sitting-room to accommodate our experts.· The radio series the Archers has been specially adapted for the theatre and is playing to packed houses.
· One interesting thing about this fish is the temperature that it can apparently adapt to.· Their tadpoles can exploit bodies of water not excessively populated with competitors, and some are adapted to very restricted niches.· Intensive research has been directed to the ways in which early communities adapted to and utilized their environments.· Other speakers adapt to far more, perhaps to most of them, at one time or another.· Her data from Dudley, West Midlands, shows that this is one of the first Creole features adapted to.· Old buildings and streets, well cared for and adapted to today's needs, vastly enhance the quality of life.· What they can read without any introduction is certainly possible for literate adults to adapt to.· It must now face the imperial impotence that Britain has found it so difficult to adapt to.
· This particular formula is well adapted to an environment consisting of test-tubes provided with ready-made replicase.· All three varietals seem to be adapting well to California, considering that they are recent immigrants.· Before modern institutions for extending credit were available, insignia and jewels were well adapted to serve as sureties for loans.· Based on the structure of the organ, we think that it is well adapted for detecting very low levels of light.· It enjoys slightly acidic water and seems to adapt well to higher than usual temperatures.· Their long arms are particularly well adapted to life in trees.· But the offspring of those biotech fish are less well adapted to survive.· They families say that people with severe learning difficulties do not adapt well to sudden changes of environment.
NOUN· It inherits not a fixed set of actions, but the ability to adapt to many.· In all of these situations the dominant social system lost its ability to adapt.· Moreover, social values and structures have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.· Training will be provided for recruits who have the ability to adapt their skills to the needs of our programmes.· Stanley Mill has survived, largely because of its ability to adapt to the changing needs of the market.· He showed his ability to adapt his performance as either the whim took him or as he was taken by circumstances.· It is an interesting fact that countries can be divided by their ability to adapt to other cultures.· The projections build in the ability of farmers to adapt to climate change by changing crops and farming methods.
· They have to adapt and change.· This means the network could learn continuously and adapt to changes over time.· Eating habits have changed under external influences, and it is not always easy for farming to adapt to such changes.· Retraining of the network to adapt to changes in the operating environment requires only processing time and new data.· Having to adapt to changes in the school and to undergo a second deskilling.· You will either adapt to changes or become unemployed.· The gonococcus has to adapt to any changes in its environment, particularly those which may compromise its chances of survival.· Its advanced manufacturing center helps local industries adapt to changes in technology and reduce costs.
· Clearly all organisations, if they are to be successful need to adapt to changed circumstances.· It constitutes an assembly of different relationships and powers, the product of traditional institutions being adapted to meet changing circumstances.· Their various facets are constantly being adapted in the light of changing circumstances and requirements.· In order to survive, a species must be capable of adapting to changing circumstances.
· The regulation of these factors is widely considered to be the way in which the small intestine adapts to nutritional demands.· You need to adapt to the demands of your own particular life-style.· More often, however, the cause is simple frustration at being unable to adapt to the technical demands of the art.· Teaching those with learning disability, sometimes physically disabled as well, to adapt to the demands of society.· This method of planning was widely criticised for its inefficiency and its inability to adapt to changing demands.· It also discussed the possibility of a World Bank grant to help industry to adapt to the demands of the protocol.
· Indoors, there are many ways in which you can adapt your environment to suit the needs of your pets.· The stomach is a biological structure that animals use to adapt to their environment.· In such occupations autonomy is cherished as a means of adapting to an uncertain environment.· It favors species better adapted to their environments and kills off those less suitable.· This particular formula is well adapted to an environment consisting of test-tubes provided with ready-made replicase.· As we adapt biologically to our environment, we adapt intellectually.· Progress is often alarmingly rapid as their enthusiasm and natural abilities adapt to the new environment.· Intellectual and biological activity are both part of the overall process by which an organism adapts to the environment and organizes experience.
· We can only generalize, and leave the composer to adapt the ideas put forward here to his own needs.· In adapting this idea for child actors and an audience of children, Storni removed certain elements and added others.· As farming methods changed, so the designs of farm buildings may have been changed to adapt to the new ideas.· I can probably adapt some of his ideas.· There are all sorts of ways you can adapt these ideas to make the patterns give your exclusive results.
· All penguins are flightless but are perfectly adapted to life in water and to withstanding cold.· Little by little, Quinn adapted to his new life.· Their long arms are particularly well adapted to life in trees.· Most epileptics are quite emotionally stable and have no more difficulty adapting to life situations than the average person.· These adapted themselves to a life in and out of work since they had a strong street culture with which to identify.· Most cryptocorynes are adapted to life in situations with insufficient light.· He asked that she be given six months' grace at Althorp so she could adapt to life without him.· Entire communities of invertebrates have adapted to life at vents.
· Musicians will be sensitive to the mood of the congregation and adapt their material as the service proceeds.· Overseas teaching materials-particularly from the United States-are often used, but in an adapted form.· Making or adapting these materials can be a time-consuming business and the help of ancillary assistance can be welcome.· A wide range of examples illustrate the text, designed to help teachers evaluate and adapt the materials they themselves use.· The research team has also lobbied firms about updating and adapting their video material for deaf parents.
· If the owner had sufficient capital to adapt to the new methods, he did so.
· There was clearly a need to adapt my lifestyle, but playing the role of victim was never among my plans.· Clearly all organisations, if they are to be successful need to adapt to changed circumstances.· As the nature of insider dealing changed, there was a corresponding need to adapt other legal doctrines to fit the abuse.
· It used to be the normal practice to adapt buildings for different purposes over their lives.
· Hill climbing can be adapted to a range of situations.· It would do - just - although they would have to shorten some of the solos and adapt the range.· The group has adapted to a range of marine and fresh water habitats where they are often filter-feeders.· This idea is so simple yet so effective that other manufacturers will surely adapt it in their ranges.· They are ideal non-aggressive community fish for the most part adapting to wide range of water conditions.
· But instead of adapting the whole recipe at once, we fiddled with one ingredient at a time.· Taking careful note, Zahler then adapted the recipes for the home cook and put together this beguiling book.
· In adapting to this expanded role the auditor faces many difficulties.· Often families, like the patients, floundered in their efforts to adapt to new roles and changed life stories.· In the second movement, the instruments seem divided into groups and gradually adapt roles.
· Teaching strategies need to adapt to this new situation, to exploit the potential offered by computers.· Most epileptics are quite emotionally stable and have no more difficulty adapting to life situations than the average person.· This, however, is the reality of nursing, and the student must be helped to adapt to all situations.· Most cryptocorynes are adapted to life in situations with insufficient light.· Clientelism is a strategy used by capitalists and workers to adapt to a situation where there is limited mobility.· In that case, he adapted to his new situation with remarkable speed.
· It is composed of species adapted to the urban environment and is influenced strongly by the availability of seeds.· The astonishing diversity of life, with species adapted for every conceivable habitat.· These birds, the icon of all evolution textbooks, show why species adapted to different ways of life stay separate.· It favors species better adapted to their environments and kills off those less suitable.· Were there species adapted for living at particular depths?
· Pupitres were adapted from these structures, although it is still uncertain who first employed them commercially for remuage.· They will also adapt their social structure under different environmental conditions.
· He could hardly adapt the style of the building's closest neighbour, the Soviet-like Novotel Hotel.· The feedback also taught the managers to adapt their style to the subordinate.· Hamilton argues that this is the Cervantes excerpt, expanded and adapted in Shakespearean style.
· The two who stay may well be the ones who adapt to the new system the best.
· Even the foreground artists had to be specially selected, because not everyone was willing or able to adapt his technique.
· Over time, these have both adapted their technologies and developed many new product lines.· Its advanced manufacturing center helps local industries adapt to changes in technology and reduce costs.
· And as you would expect in a town of enterprise, some of these buildings have been sensibly adapted to modern use.· Even so, it had to be adapted to new uses, notably in the scientific field.· During the 1950s further work on marine guidance was adapted for use in ballistic missiles.· Such a barn is easy to load and unload and may be adapted for other uses when empty.· The cash will be used to buy a computer which will be adapted for use by disabled children.· This does not mean that these procedures can not be adapted to classroom use.· What is needed in the long term is a larger worship area which can be adapted for other uses.· At Winfrith, a range of skills developed for nuclear modelling and inspection were adapted for use by the offshore oil industry.
· Tough targets have been set in quality and service levels and everyone has had to adapt to new ways of doing things.· These birds, the icon of all evolution textbooks, show why species adapted to different ways of life stay separate.· There is a quiet pride that the profession avoided the extremes in adapting to modern ways.· It has been interpreted and adapted in widely different ways, relating to varied environments and concepts held by chief executives themselves.
· But I adapted to the work.· They are typical in that they adapt non-literary work on language.· All our women found adapting to university work and the social context difficult but exciting.
VERB· Those that failed to adapt perished.1 With his own eyes he saw proofs of it.· The Quakers failed to adapt and almost died.· Any species-any country-that fails to adapt will join the pantheon of the extinct.· The parties have failed to adapt and have lost much of their power and influence and most of their reason for being.· But retailers that fail to adapt swiftly, such as Marks & Spencer, are brutally punished.· If the population as a whole fails to adapt under pressure, the species will be wiped out by a rival.
· It is you they need, and your skills they must be prepared to help you to adapt and improve.· This revamping is geared toward helping workers adapt to changing times.· A wide range of examples illustrate the text, designed to help teachers evaluate and adapt the materials they themselves use.· Its advanced manufacturing center helps local industries adapt to changes in technology and reduce costs.· But many farmers will need help to adapt to the new conditions, and we will continue to provide assistance.· This, however, is the reality of nursing, and the student must be helped to adapt to all situations.· It also discussed the possibility of a World Bank grant to help industry to adapt to the demands of the protocol.
· However, resources are required for these opportunities for education to learn and adapt business approaches.· This means the network could learn continuously and adapt to changes over time.· While Man has stopped developing, animals seem to learn, adapt and change all the time.· If they can not learn to adapt, they will suffer the consequences.· I have learned to adapt the eating plan to my needs.· I learned that everyone adapts and becomes concerned with the details of the job at hand, no matter how bizarre.· What about learning how to change things for the better rather than merely learning to adapt to the way things are now?· We must learn when to adapt and when to resist, or be swallowed up.
· In recent years, farmers have tried to adapt their product to a supposed demand for leaner beef.· Certainly Jeanne had never tried to adapt him to the realities, a job for which she was remarkably ill equipped anyway.· Pluralists have even tried to adapt Schumpeter's account, but have neglected his strong elitist account of input politics.· I've tried to adapt an adult's one but haven't been very successful.· Then they try and adapt and mould it.
WORD FAMILYnounadaptabilityadaptationadapteradaptoradjectiveadaptableadaptedverbadapt
1[intransitive, transitive] to gradually change your behaviour and attitudes in order to be successful in a new situationadapt to The children are finding it hard to adapt to the new school. flowers which are well adapted to harsh winters The ability to adapt is a definite asset in this job.adapt yourself/itself etc (to something) How do these insects adapt themselves to new environments?2[transitive] to change something to make it suitable for a different purposeadapt something to do something The car has been adapted to take unleaded gas.adapt something for somebody These teaching materials can be adapted for older children.3[transitive] if a book or play is adapted for film, television etc, it is changed so that it can be made into a film, television programme etcbe adapted for something Many children buy books after they have been adapted for television.GRAMMAR Adapt is usually passive in this meaning.—adapted adjective: She lives in a specially adapted flat.