- 1 [intransitive, transitive] to take somebody else’s child into your family and become its legal parent(s) a campaign to encourage childless couples to adopt adopt somebody to adopt a child She was forced to have her baby adopted. compare foster CollocationsChildrenHaving a baby/child want a baby/a child/kids start a family conceive/be expecting/be going to have a baby/child miss your period become/get/be/find out that you are pregnant have a baby/a child/kids/a son/a daughter/twins/a family have a normal/a difficult/an unwanted pregnancy; an easy/a difficult/a home birth be in/go into/induce labour (especially US English) labor have/suffer/cause a miscarriage give birth to a child/baby/daughter/son/twinsParenting bring up/ (especially North American English) raise a child/family care for/ (especially British English) look after a baby/child/kid change (British English) a nappy/(North American English) a diaper/a baby feed/breastfeed/bottle-feed a baby be entitled to/go on maternity/paternity leave go back/return to work after maternity leave need/find/get a babysitter/good quality affordable childcare balance/combine work and childcare/child-rearing/family life educate/teach/home-school a child/kid punish/discipline/spoil a child/kid adopt a baby/child/kid offer a baby for/put a baby up for adoption (especially British English) foster a child/kid be placed with/be raised by foster parents Wordfinderfamilyadopt, child, family, generation, heir, in-laws, parent, relation, stepfamily, surrogate mother Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverblegally phraseshave somebody adopted See full entry See related entries: Legal processes, Raising children method
- 2 [transitive] adopt something to start to use a particular method or to show a particular attitude towards somebody/something All three teams adopted different approaches to the problem. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbformally, officially verb + adopttend to, decide to, be forced to, … See full entry suggestion
- 3 [transitive] adopt something to formally accept a suggestion or policy by voting to adopt a resolution The council is expected to adopt the new policy at its next meeting. new name/country
- 4[transitive] adopt something to choose a new name, a country, a custom, etc. and begin to use it as your own to adopt a name/title/language Early Christians in Europe adopted many of the practices of the older, pagan religions. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbformally, officially verb + adopttend to, decide to, be forced to, … See full entry way of behaving
- 5[transitive] adopt something (formal) to use a particular manner, way of speaking, expression, etc. He adopted an air of indifference. candidate
- 6[transitive] adopt somebody (as something) (British English, politics) to choose somebody as a candidate in an election or as a representative She was adopted as parliamentary candidate for Wood Green. Word Originlate 15th cent.: via French from Latin adoptare, from ad- ‘to’ + optare ‘choose’.Extra examples We would like to adopt a child. He adopted the dress and manners of an Englishman. She adopted an air of indifference. The child has now been legally adopted. The couple adopted two children. The female adopts a more passive role than the male. The government adopted a resolution on disarmament. The new manager adopted a very autocratic style. The party adopted its current name in 1965. The policy has not yet been formally adopted. We could not agree on the best methods to adopt. What position do you adopt on this issue? the policies employers adopt towards the labour force He smiled and adopted a more casual tone of voice. The people adopted him as their patron saint. The royal family adopted the name of Windsor early in the last century.
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BrE BrE//əˈdɒpt//; NAmE NAmE//əˈdɑːpt//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they adopt BrE BrE//əˈdɒpt//; NAmE NAmE//əˈdɑːpt//
he / she / it adopts BrE BrE//əˈdɒpts//; NAmE NAmE//əˈdɑːpts//
past simple adopted BrE BrE//əˈdɒptɪd//; NAmE NAmE//əˈdɑːptɪd//
past participle adopted BrE BrE//əˈdɒptɪd//; NAmE NAmE//əˈdɑːptɪd//
-ing form adopting BrE BrE//əˈdɒptɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//əˈdɑːptɪŋ//
Legal processes, Raising childrenCheck pronunciation: adopt
