First Known Use: 1550
Dictionary
accommodate
verb ac·com·mo·date \ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt\
: to provide room for (someone) : to provide a place to stay and sleep for (someone)
: to have room for (someone or something)
: to do something helpful for (someone) : to provide what is needed or wanted for (someone or something)
ac·com·mo·dat·edac·com·mo·dat·ing
Full Definition of ACCOMMODATE
transitive verb
1
: to make fit, suitable, or congruous
3
: to provide with something desired, needed, or suited
4
a : to make room for b : to hold without crowding or inconvenience
5
: to give consideration to : allow for <accommodate the special interests of various groups>
intransitive verb
: to adapt oneself; also : to undergo visual accommodation
— ac·com·mo·da·tive \-ˌdā-tiv\ adjective
— ac·com·mo·da·tive·ness noun
— ac·com·mo·da·tor \-ˌdā-tər\ noun
See accommodate defined for English-language learners
See accommodate defined for kids
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Examples of ACCOMMODATE
- Although Lost World was the hottest movie around, we saw it in a chamber of almost laughable minuteness, barely large enough to accommodate nine rows of seats, which were grudgingly padded … —Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999
- … a farmhouse that has been redone to accommodate both good English antiques and luxe 20th-century comforts without sacrificing any of its rough-hewn charm. —Francine Prose, Travel & Leisure, December 1994
- The young-adult horror authors tend to be too busy accommodating MTV attention spans to create vivid personalities … —Ken Tucker, New York Times Book Review, 14 Nov. 1993
- … political authority depended on tribal leadership, and the scholars had to accommodate themselves to it. —Ernest Gellner, Culture, Identity, and Politics, 1987
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Origin of ACCOMMODATE
Latin accommodatus, past participle of accommodare, from ad- + commodare to make fit, from commodus suitable — more at commode
Related to ACCOMMODATE
- Antonyms
- disharmonize
Synonym Discussion of ACCOMMODATE
adapt, adjust, accommodate, conform, reconcile mean to bring one thing into correspondence with another. adapt implies a modification according to changing circumstances <adapted themselves to the warmer climate>. adjust suggests bringing into a close and exact correspondence or harmony such as exists between parts of a mechanism <adjusted the budget to allow for inflation>. accommodate may suggest yielding or compromising to effect a correspondence <accommodated his political beliefs in order to win>. conform applies to bringing into accordance with a pattern, example, or principle <refused to conform to society's values>. reconcile implies the demonstration of the underlying compatibility of things that seem to be incompatible <tried to reconcile what he said with what I knew>.
contain, hold, accommodate mean to have or be capable of having within. contain implies the actual presence of a specified substance or quantity within something <the can contains a quart of oil>. hold implies the capacity of containing or the usual or permanent function of containing or keeping <the bookcase will hold all my textbooks>. accommodate stresses holding without crowding or inconvenience <the hall can accommodate 500 people>.
contain, hold, accommodate mean to have or be capable of having within. contain implies the actual presence of a specified substance or quantity within something <the can contains a quart of oil>. hold implies the capacity of containing or the usual or permanent function of containing or keeping <the bookcase will hold all my textbooks>. accommodate stresses holding without crowding or inconvenience <the hall can accommodate 500 people>.
Rhymes with ACCOMMODATE
abbreviate, abominate, accelerate, accentuate, acculturate, accumulate, adjudicate, adulterate, affiliate, agglomerate, alienate, alleviate, alliterate, amalgamate, ameliorate, amyl nitrate, annihilate, annunciate, anticipate, apostolate, appreciate, appropriate, approximate, arpeggiate, articulate, asphyxiate, assassinate, asseverate, assimilate, associate, at any rate, attenuate, authenticate, barbiturate, bicarbonate, calumniate, capacitate, capitulate, catholicate, certificate, coagulate, coelenterate, collaborate, commemorate, commiserate, communicate, compassionate, concatenate, conciliate, confabulate, confederate, conglomerate, congratulate, consolidate, contaminate, cooperate, coordinate, corroborate, deactivate, debilitate, decapitate, decelerate, decerebrate, deconcentrate, deconsecrate, decorticate, decrepitate, de-escalate, defibrinate, defoliate, degenerate, deliberate, delineate, demodulate, denominate, depopulate, depreciate, deracinate, deregulate, desegregate, desiderate, detoxicate, devaluate, diaconate, dilapidate, discriminate, disintegrate, disseminate, dissimulate, dissociate, domesticate, effectuate, ejaculate, elaborate, electroplate, eliminate, elucidate, emaciate, emancipate, emasculate, encapsulate, enumerate, enunciate, episcopate, equivocate, eradicate, etiolate, evacuate, evaluate, evaporate, eventuate, eviscerate, exacerbate, exaggerate, exasperate, excited state, excogitate, excoriate, exfoliate, exhilarate, exonerate, expatiate, expatriate, expectorate, expostulate, expropriate, extenuate, exterminate, extrapolate, facilitate, felicitate, fish or cut bait, garrison state, gesticulate, habilitate, habituate, hallucinate, humiliate, hydrogenate, hypothecate, illuminate, impersonate, inactivate, inaugurate, incarcerate, incinerate, incorporate, incriminate, indoctrinate, inebriate, infatuate, infuriate, ingratiate, ingurgitate, initiate, inoculate, inseminate, insinuate, instantiate, intercalate, interpolate, interrelate, interrogate, intimidate, intoxicate, invalidate, investigate, invigorate, irradiate, Italianate, Korea Strait, lanceolate, legitimate, luxuriate, mandarinate, manipulate, matriarchate, matriculate, Merthiolate, necessitate, negotiate, noncandidate, obliterate, officiate, Orange Free State, orientate, originate, oxygenate, participate, particulate, patriarchate, patriciate, perambulate, peregrinate, perpetuate, pontificate, precipitate, predestinate, predominate, prefabricate, premeditate, preponderate, prevaricate, procrastinate, prognosticate, proliferate, propitiate, proportionate, quadruplicate, quintuplicate, reciprocate, recriminate, recuperate, redecorate, reduplicate, reeducate, refrigerate, regenerate, regurgitate, reincarnate, reintegrate, reiterate, rejuvenate, remunerate, repatriate, repudiate, resuscitate, retaliate, reticulate, revaluate, reverberate, scholasticate, second estate, self-flagellate, self-immolate, self-pollinate, seventy-eight, sextuplicate, Singapore Strait, sophisticate, subordinate, substantiate, syllabicate, tergiversate, transliterate, triangulate, vanity plate, variegate, vaticinate, vituperate, vociferate
ACCOMMODATE Defined for Kids
accommodate
verb ac·com·mo·date \ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt\
ac·com·mo·dat·edac·com·mo·dat·ing
Definition of ACCOMMODATE for Kids
1
: to provide with a place to stay or sleep <accommodate guests>
2
: to provide with something needed : help out <My teacher will change her schedule to accommodate her students.>
3
: to have room for <The bus accommodates 40 people.>
Medical Dictionary
accommodate
intransitive verb ac·com·mo·date \ə-ˈkäm-ə-ˌdāt\
ac·com·mo·dat·edac·com·mo·dat·ing
Medical Definition of ACCOMMODATE
: to adapt oneself; also : to undergo visual accommodation
—ac·com·mo·da·tive \-ˌdāt-iv\ adjective
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