adopt
verb/əˈdɒpt/
/əˈdɑːpt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they adopt | /əˈdɒpt/ /əˈdɑːpt/ |
| he / she / it adopts | /əˈdɒpts/ /əˈdɑːpts/ |
| past simple adopted | /əˈdɒptɪd/ /əˈdɑːptɪd/ |
| past participle adopted | /əˈdɒptɪd/ /əˈdɑːptɪd/ |
| -ing form adopting | /əˈdɒptɪŋ/ /əˈdɑːptɪŋ/ |
- [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.
- She adopted three children from the orphanage.
Collocations ChildrenChildrenHaving 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/twins
- 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
Extra ExamplesTopics Life stagesb2, Law and justiceb2, Family and relationshipsb2- We would like to adopt a child.
- The child has now been legally adopted.
- The couple adopted two children.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- legally
- have somebody adopted
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- [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.
- Our study examined the strategies adopted by patients for seeking information.
- The police adopted tighter security measures.
- to adopt an attitude/stance/position
Extra Examples- We could not agree on the best methods to adopt.
- He smiled and adopted a more casual tone of voice.
- The new manager adopted a very autocratic style.
- The female adopts a more passive role than the male.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- formally
- officially
- tend to
- decide to
- be forced to
- …
- [transitive] adopt something to formally accept a suggestion or policy by voting
- The government adopted a resolution on disarmament.
- The council is expected to adopt the new policy at its next meeting.
- The UN Security Council unanimously adopted the resolution.
Extra Examples- The policy has not yet been formally adopted.
- What position do you adopt on this issue?
- the policies employers adopt towards the labour force
- [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.
Extra Examples- The royal family adopted the name of Windsor early in the last century.
- He adopted the dress and manners of an Englishman.
- The party adopted its current name in 1965.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- formally
- officially
- tend to
- decide to
- be forced to
- …
- [transitive] adopt something (formal) to use a particular manner, way of speaking, expression, etc.
- He adopted an air of indifference.
- [transitive] adopt somebody (as something) (British English, politics) to choose somebody as a candidate in an election; to choose somebody as your representative
- She was adopted as parliamentary candidate for Wood Green.
- The people adopted him as their patron saint.
child
method
suggestion
new name/country
way of behaving
candidate
Word Originlate 15th cent.: via French from Latin adoptare, from ad- ‘to’ + optare ‘choose’.
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adopt