adapt

/əˈdæpt/

//əˈdæpt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"adapt" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adapt” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,309. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,309
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adapt · adapt · English

adapt · rank #7,309 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,309
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH acoustic

Nearest frequency peer: acoustic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “adapt”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “adapt” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

adapt vs apt
60% similar
adapt vs ADP
0% similar
adapt vs ASAP
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for adapt
PropertyValue
Headwordadapt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈdæpt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,309
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “adapt” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).adaptlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “acoustic” (#7,308), “ancestors” (#7,310), “absent” (#7,307). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around adapt (IPA /əˈdæpt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,309 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for adapt, with forms such as "aadpt", "adappt", and "adaptt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "apt", "ADP", "ASAP", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *adapten (attested in Middle English adapted (past participle)), from Latin adaptāre (“to fit to”), from ad- (“to”) + aptāre (“to make fit”), from aptus (“fit”); see apt. The correct English form is adapt, spelled A-D-A-P-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit.
  2. 2
    To fit by alteration; to modify or remodel for a different purpose; to adjust.
  3. 3
    To make by altering or fitting something else; to produce by change of form or character.
  4. 4
    To make oneself comfortable to a new thing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how adapt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. to adapt a story for the stage
  2. to adapt an old machine to a new manufacture

Etymology

From Middle English *adapten (attested in Middle English adapted (past participle)), from Latin adaptāre (“to fit to”), from ad- (“to”) + aptāre (“to make fit”), from aptus (“fit”); see apt.

This word in other languages

adaptar(Español)adapter(Français)anpassen(Deutsch)adaptar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aadpt
  • adappt
  • adaptt
  • adatp
  • addapt
  • adpat
  • daapt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adapt - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aadpt2adappt1adaptt1adatp2addapt1adpat2daapt2
Edit distance from "adapt"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "adapt"?
"adapt" is spelled A-D-A-P-T. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈdæpt/.
What does "adapt" mean?
As a verb, "adapt" means: To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit.
What words are commonly confused with "adapt"?
"adapt" is commonly confused with "apt", "ADP", "ASAP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "adapt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adapt" is /əˈdæpt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "adapt"?
From Middle English *adapten (attested in Middle English adapted (past participle)), from Latin adaptāre (“to fit to”), from ad- (“to”) + aptāre (“to make fit”), from aptus (“fit”); see apt. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "adapt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Bryan#7,315weigh#7,303Cohen#7,322straw#7,294

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

steep7 variantsdense7 variantsroller7 variantsremix7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "adapt". Here's where to go from here.

  • "adapt" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "apt". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,309 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list