Javascript required
Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer

What Is the Meaning of the Word Adopt

  • Top Definitions
  • Quiz
  • Related Content
  • More About Adopt
  • Examples
  • British

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.


verb (used with object)

to choose or take as one's own; make one's own by selection or assent: to adopt a nickname.

to take responsibility for raising (someone else's biological child) as one's own, specifically by a formal legal act: After more than 300 days in foster care, the twins were adopted by a family that was able to keep the siblings together.

to acquire (a pet, especially one from an animal rescue organization): Local animal rescue groups use social media to persuade people to adopt dogs and cats from them instead of purchasing puppies and kittens from pet shops or breeders.

to take or receive into any kind of new relationship: to adopt a person as a protégé.

to select as a basic or required textbook or series of textbooks in a course.

to vote to accept: The House adopted the report.

to accept or act in accordance with (a plan, principle, etc.).

verb (used without object)

to take a nonbiological child into one's home and raise as one's own.

to acquire a pet, especially one from an animal rescue organization: "Adopt! Don't shop!" is the popular slogan promoted by one nonprofit animal advocacy group.

Verb Phrases

adopt out, to place in a home by means of adoption: The shelter provides basic medical care and vaccinations to the animals they will be adopting out.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Which of the following words describes "sky blue"?

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Origin of adopt

First recorded 1490–1500; late Middle English adopten, partly from Middle French adopter, partly from Latin adoptāre, equivalent to ad- verb prefix + optāre "to desire, pray for"; see ad-, opt

OTHER WORDS FROM adopt

a·dopt·er, noun non·a·dopt·er, noun pre·a·dopt, verb (used with object) qua·si-a·dopt, verb (used with object)

qua·si-a·dopt·ed, adjective re·a·dopt, verb (used with object) un·a·dopt·ed, adjective well-a·dopt·ed, adjective

Words nearby adopt

Adonai, Adonic, Adonijah, Adonis, Adon Olam, adopt, adoptable, adopted, adoptee, adoption, adoption curve

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

MORE ABOUT ADOPT

What doesadopt mean?

To adopt is to take another parent's child into one's custody, typically in a formal legal way, in order to permanently act as their parent or guardian.

This most commonly involves an adult couple or a single adult adopting and raising a child who is no longer in the custody of either of their birth parents (biological parents), such as in cases where they have died or are otherwise unable to care for the child. This sense of adopt can also be used in reference to adopting an animal as a pet, such as from an animal shelter. The word is especially used this way when the animal had a previous caretaker.

Adopt and the noun form adoption have many other more general meanings. Most generally, adopt means to choose or take as one's own. It can also mean to accept something or vote to approve it. In all cases, adoption is the act or process of adopting, or the state of having adopted.

To adopt a tradition or religion is to make it one's own. To adopt a plan is to approve it and act according to its steps. Similarly, to adopt a law is to formally vote to approve it and take steps to follow and enforce it.

Example: We've found an agency that will help us to adopt.

Where doesadopt come from?

The first records of the word adopt come from the 1300s. It comes from the Latin verb adoptāre, meaning "to choose for oneself," from optāre, "to choose."

Adoption of children is often pursued by people who are unable or who choose not to have biological children, but it can also involve families with their own children adopting other children into the family. A child can also be adopted by a relative, such as an aunt, uncle, or grandparent. The adjective adoptive can mean "involving adoption" or "related by adoption," as in my adoptive family. A person who has been adopted can be referred to as an adoptee. More commonly, such a person may identify as adopted, as in I'm adopted, but I've met my birth mother and keep in touch with her.

Did you know ... ?

How isadopt used in real life?

Adopt is commonly used in the context of the adoption of children as well as in its general senses.

THIS IS NOT OKAY. Being a part of the LGBTQ+ community or having a disability should not be a factor in whether you are able to adopt a child or not. I am heartbroken. https://t.co/BC578N7k3T

— vote blue (@ida1ia) October 23, 2020

I have been trying to adopt a puppy for 3 months, no luck whatsoever. What am I doing wrong?

— Lea Goldman (@lea) October 21, 2020

@SOTSMerrill are there any plans to adopt early voting in CT for future elections? Feels like the state is behind on this one.

— Brian Koerber (@bkurbs) October 22, 2020

Try usingadopt!

Is adopt used correctly in the following sentence?

We plan to adopt the new plan next quarter.

How to use adopt in a sentence

  • The Sense, however, is alone as the first Fitbit to adopt an ECG sensor, bringing it up to speed with the new Apple Watch on that front.

  • For farms to adopt climate-friendly practices, they need restaurants that reward them for doing so.

  • New York adopted some of the toughest measures, and it now has the third-lowest per-capita case rate among the 50 states.

  • Even in normal circumstances, when people are not under stress, it is difficult to adopt AI tools into a process and make sure it's all properly regulated.

  • The networks may benefit from more people having adopted streaming this year and the people who canceled their pay-TV subscriptions looking to subscribe to streamers offering TV programming.

  • Now Wisconsin is considering making it mandatory for parents who adopt overseas to have their children "re-adopted" in the state.

  • Some of the most explosive opportunities could be based around things that the Western world seems reluctant to adopt.

  • "It doesn't require the association to immediately adopt the listed protections," Hruby wrote.

  • How many shootings will it take before we adopt common sense gun control?

  • Almost every country present pledged to either adopt a church or rebuild a school.

  • The French adopt the same derivation, calling it "asbeste" (minèral filamenteux et incombustible).

  • They may adopt such rules as they like provided they are not contrary to the laws of the land.

  • Very soon I induced my directors to adopt the view that the railway company must encourage and help the project.

  • But don't adopt the role of inquisitor—because I'm as good as dead, and dead men tell no tales.

  • It decided to adopt Mr. Dickinson's petition; and to this measure John Adams submitted.

British Dictionary definitions for adopt


verb (tr)

law to bring (a person) into a specific relationship, esp to take (another's child) as one's own child

to choose and follow (a plan, technique, etc)

to take over (an idea, etc) as if it were one's own

to take on; assume to adopt a title

to accept (a report, etc)

Derived forms of adopt

adoptee, noun adopter, noun adoption, noun

Word Origin for adopt

C16: from Latin adoptāre to choose for oneself, from optāre to choose

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

What Is the Meaning of the Word Adopt

Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/adopt