apt

[apt] /æpt/

adjective

inclined; disposed; given; prone:

too apt to slander others.

likely:

Am I apt to find him at home?

unusually intelligent; able to learn quickly and easily:

an apt pupil.

suited to the purpose or occasion; appropriate:

an apt metaphor; a few apt remarks on world peace.

Archaic. prepared; ready; willing.

Origin

1350-1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin aptus fastened, fitted, fitting, appropriate, equivalent to ap- fasten, attach + -tus past participle suffix

Related forms

aptly, adverb

aptness, noun

overapt, adjective

overaptly, adverb

overaptness, noun

Can be confused

apt, likely (see synonym study at the current entry; see usage note at likely)

Synonyms

1. liable. 2. See likely. 3. clever, bright; adaptable; handy, adroit, dexterous, skillful. 4. fitting, meet, germane, felicitous. Apt, pertinent, relevant all refer to something suitable or fitting. Apt means to the point and particularly appropriate: an apt comment. Pertinent means pertaining to the matter in hand: a pertinent remark. Relevant means directly related to and important to the subject: a relevant opinion.

Usage note

Some usage guides insist that apt followed by an infinitive can or should be used to mean only “inclined, disposed”: He is apt to ignore matters he regards as unimportant. In fact, apt is standard in all varieties of speech and writing as a synonym for likely in contexts that suggest probability without any implication of a natural disposition toward: Hostilities are apt to break out if the confrontation is not soon resolved. She is apt to arrive almost any time now. See also liable.

apt.

plural apts.

apartment.

Examples from the web for apt

If you think a fact is conveniently available online, then, you may be less apt to learn it.
The query was prescient, the image apt.
The cost is apt to be high, regardless.
He's just as apt to tear up as blow up.
The comparison is, of course, not quite apt.
Gregory is more apt to fall when he's walking downhill, when gravity accelerates his body faster than he can move his cane.
You're apt to find it here.
For artists—mainly painters—with a recognised body of work behind them he is rarely without an apt, generous word.
Such a variety of styles and settings offers an apt reminder of the vitality of this genre.
But most patrons have always been more apt to wear greasy printers' uniforms than minks.

British Dictionary definitions for apt

apt

/æpt/

adjective

suitable for the circumstance or purpose; appropriate

(postpositive; foll by an infinitive) having a tendency (to behave as specified)

having the ability to learn and understand easily; clever (esp in the phrase an apt pupil)

Derived Forms

aptly, adverb
aptness, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Latin aptus fitting, suitable, from apere to fasten

apt.

abbreviation (pl) apts.

apartment

Word Origin and History for apt

adj.

mid-14c., "inclined, disposed;" late 14c., "suited, fitted, adapted," from Old French ate (13c., Modern French apte), or directly from Latin aptus "fit, suited," adjectival use of past participle of *apere "to attach, join, tie to," from PIE root *ap- "to grasp, take, reach" (cf. Sanskrit apnoti "he reaches," Latin apisci "to reach after, attain," Hittite epmi "I seize"). Elliptical sense of "becoming, appropriate" is from 1560s.

apt in Technology

1. Automatically Programmed Tools.
2. Audio Processing Technology.

Related Abbreviations for apt

APT

admissions per thousand
advanced personnel testing
apartment

apt.

apartment