Definition of: adapt

(ə·dapt′) v.t.
1. To make suitable, as by remodeling: with for: to adapt a novel for the theater.
2. To modify (oneself) to conform to a situation or environment.
—v.i.
3. To become adjusted to a circumstance or environment: with to: Some plants adapt well to high altitudes. [<F adapter < L adaptare <ad- to + aptare fit] Synonyms: accommodate, adjust, arrange, attune, conform, fashion, fit, harmonize, prepare, proportion, set, suit. Fit and adapt refer to the bringing about of agreement; fit applies especially to original purpose; as. the key is fitted to the lock; adapt often applies to the securing of agreement by partial change; a novel is adapted for the stage by changing it from the narrative to the dramatic form. Adjust refers chiefly to relative position; the parts of a typewriter, already fitted and adapted to each other, must be adjusted for perfect alinement. To suit is to make one thing or person in all respects agreeable to another. Conform implies external agreement, as of a glacier to a rock surface, or of dissenters to an established church. Accommodate implies some concession or yielding to secure harmony; as, to accommodate oneself to circumstances. Arrange refers to position and order, commonly of detached objects; as, to arrange the furniture of a room, or the heads of a discourse. See ACCOMMODATE. Compare SET.