adopt

[uh-dopt] /əˈdɒpt/
verb (used with object)
1.
to choose or take as one's own; make one's own by selection or assent:
to adopt a nickname.
2.
to take and rear (the child of other parents) as one's own child, specifically by a formal legal act.
3.
to take or receive into any kind of new relationship:
to adopt a person as a protégé.
4.
to select as a basic or required textbook or series of textbooks in a course.
5.
to vote to accept:
The House adopted the report.
6.
to accept or act in accordance with (a plan, principle, etc.).
Verb phrases
7.
adopt out, to place (a child) for adoption:
The institution may keep a child or adopt it out.
Origin
1490-1500; (< Middle French adopter) < Latin adoptāre, equivalent to ad- ad- + optāre to opt
Related forms
adopter, noun
nonadopter, noun
preadopt, verb (used with object)
quasi-adopt, verb (used with object)
quasi-adopted, adjective
readopt, verb (used with object)
unadopted, adjective
well-adopted, adjective
Can be confused
adapt, adept, adopt.
adopted, adoptive.
Examples from the web for adopt
  • Look around at what the other countries have done to manage agents and adopt these sound practices.
  • As open source begins to look more corporate, corporations themselves are looking to adopt and adapt more open-source practices.
  • Children adopt their parents' eating habits, so it looks hereditary.
  • Caregivers routinely adopt flying fox orphans and find them delightfully smart.
  • And if you've been holding off on picking up the system, your real reason to adopt has at last presented itself.
  • If you as a teacher want to adopt its protocols, that's fine.
  • Share what you see so that others can adopt these best practices.
  • If shrunk to nanometer levels, the tape measure could adopt a superposition of twisting both left and right.
  • With this information, they can then adopt sound management practices to better ensure the pups' success.
  • They called on legal scholars to adopt a more realistic view of human nature.
British Dictionary definitions for adopt

adopt

/əˈdɒpt/
verb (transitive)
1.
(law) to bring (a person) into a specific relationship, esp to take (another's child) as one's own child
2.
to choose and follow (a plan, technique, etc)
3.
to take over (an idea, etc) as if it were one's own
4.
to take on; assume: to adopt a title
5.
to accept (a report, etc)
Derived Forms
adoptee, noun
adopter, noun
adoption, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Latin adoptāre to choose for oneself, from optāre to choose
Word Origin and History for adopt
v.

c.1500, a back-formation from adoption or else from Middle French adopter or directly from Latin adoptare "take by choice, choose for oneself, select, choose" (especially a child). Originally in English also of friends, fathers, citizens, etc. Sense of "to legally take as one's own child" and that of "to embrace, espouse" a practice, method, etc. are from c.1600. Related: Adopted; adopting.