English dictionary · verb

adopt

To take (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.) by choice into a relationship.

Meaning and definitions

1. To take (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.) by choice into a relationship.
2. To take voluntarily (a child of other parents) to be in the place of, or as, one's own child.
3. To obtain (a pet) from a shelter or the wild.

Connected roots

• opt-

  eye, sight

Explore the word family

These words share a recorded root connection. A shared root is a learning clue; it does not establish every step in a word’s history.

• option

  One of a set of choices that can be made.

• autopsy

  A dissection performed on a cadaver to find possible cause(s) of death.

• biopsy

  The removal and examination of a sample of tissue, cells, or bodily fluid from a living body for diagnostic purposes.

• optometry

  The art and science of vision and eye care.

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