What is the meaning of adopt?

verb

  • Choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans.
    • usage: "She followed the feminist movement"; "The candidate espouses Republican ideals"
  • Take up and practice as one's own.
  • Take on titles, offices, duties, responsibilities.
    • usage: "When will the new President assume office"
  • Take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect.
    • usage: "His voice took on a sad tone"; "The story took a new turn"; "he adopted an air of superiority"; "She assumed strange manners"; "The gods assume human or animal form in these fables"
  • Take into one's family.
    • usage: "They adopted two children from Nicaragua"
  • Put into dramatic form.
    • usage: "adopt a book for a screenplay"
  • Take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own.
    • usage: "She embraced Catholicism"; "They adopted the Jewish faith"
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APAWordNet. (2010). Adopt. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/adopt/definitions/1254888
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "Adopt" http://smartdefine.org/adopt/definitions/1254888 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, Adopt, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/adopt/definitions/1254888>.
MLAWordNet. "Adopt" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/adopt/definitions/1254888>
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