Adopt Meaning
/əˈdɒpt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo take (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.) by choice into a relationship.
verbTo 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.
Sentence Examples
If you can't have children, you could always adopt.
We have decided to adopt your idea.
A campaign to encourage childless couples to adopt
CEFR Practice Quiz
The couple decided to ____ a child from the local foster care agency.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The couple decided to ____ a child after years of trying to start a family.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French adopter, from Latin adoptō; ad + optō (“to choose, desire”), equivalent to ad- + opt.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Sixteen years ago, the station entered into a new chapter when it was adopted by the Friends of Chirk Station (FoCS) volunteer group, under the Arriva Trains Wales Station Adopters programme."
— 2020 December 30, Paul Stephen, “Chirk station is truly blooming”, in Rail, page 49:
"[S]he [Edwina, mother of Tennessee Williams] was indeed Amanda [Wingfield, character in Williams' play The Glass Menagerie] in the flesh: a doughty chatterbox from Ohio who adopted the manner of a Southern belle and eschewed both drink and sex to the greatest extent possible."
— 2014 November 14, Blake Bailey, “'Tennessee Williams,' by John Lahr [print version: Theatrical victory of art over life, International New York Times, 18 November 2014, p. 13]”, in The New York Times:
"Every society should adopt an order of business adapted to its special wants."
— 1876, Henry Martyn Robert, Robert’s Rules of Order, Chicago: S.C. Griggs & Co., Article XIV, Section 71, p. 156:
"Having found a property that 'feels' right you then have to adopt a hard-headed attitude and consider the realities of life in a new environment."
— 1997, “Buying a Rural Property”, in Back to Basics, Surry Hills, NSW: Reader's Digest (Australia) Pty Limited, page 10:
"Nakamura 'Adopts' Komodo On Fathers Day: 20.5-2.5"
— 2018 June 19, Peter Doggers, “(title)”, in Chess.com, archived from the original on 21 May 2022:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The couple decided to ____ a child from the local foster care agency.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The couple decided to ____ a child after years of trying to start a family.