adopts

verb

Definition of adoptsnext
present tense third-person singular of adopt
as in borrows
to take for one's own use (something originated by another) shortly after moving to the U.S., the family dutifully adopted the American tradition of having turkey for Thanksgiving

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of adopts Evergreen, who is now 8 weeks old, is currently living with a foster family until a forever family adopts her. — Toria Sheffield, People.com, 28 Dec. 2024 Along the way, Roz befriends some of the local wildlife—Pedro Pascal voices a mischievous red fox named Fink, with Bill Nighy voicing an elderly goose named Longneck—and adopts an orphaned goose named Brightbill (Kit Connor). — Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2024 The plan also adopts a $40 million short-term loan that allows the city to delay paying off its debt, a major point of criticism for many of the protesters. — Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 17 Dec. 2024

Browse Nearby Words

adopts
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Adopts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adopts. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on adopts

Nglish: Translation of adopts for Spanish Speakers

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All