acclimate

verb

ac·​cli·​mate ˈa-klə-ˌmāt 

ə-ˈklī-mət,

-ˌmāt 

acclimated; acclimating

transitive verb

: to adapt (someone) to a new temperature, altitude, climate, environment, or situation

They had to acclimate themselves to an urban lifestyle.

slowly becoming acclimated to a new environment

intransitive verb

: to adjust or adapt to a new temperature, climate, environment, or situation : to become acclimated

climbers gradually acclimating to the high altitude

Synonyms

• acclimatize
• accommodate
• adapt
• adjust
• condition
• conform
• doctor
• edit
• fashion
• fit
• put
• shape
• suit
• tailor

Examples of acclimate in a Sentence

I acclimated myself to the hot weather.

You might need to acclimate your plants to bright sunlight gradually.

We took a few days to get acclimated to our new teacher.

Recent Examples on the Web

Luckily, this Korean team did spring training in Tucson, Ariz., so I got acclimated with my teammates and stuff on U.S. soil, which was very helpful. —Annie Heilbrunn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025

Once one of the richest people in Australia, Pratt has fully acclimated to the United States, even chipping in plenty to American politics. —Kyle Khan-Mullins, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025

Maryland simply flew south from Seattle, having already acclimated to the West Coast. —Jim Root, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025

As part of this effort, Thomas leaves city life to help acclimate the creature to its natural environment. —Colson Thayer, People.com, 24 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French acclimater, from a-, prefix forming transitive verbs (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + climat "climate" (going back to Old French) — more at climate

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for acclimate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Kids Definition

acclimate

verb

ac·​cli·​mate ˈak-lə-ˌmāt  ə-ˈklī-mət 

-ˌmāt

acclimated; acclimating

: to adapt to a new climate, environment, or situation

acclimation

ˌak-lə-ˈmā-shən

ˌak-ˌlī-

noun

Medical Definition

acclimate

verb

ac·​cli·​mate ˈak-lə-ˌmāt; ə-ˈklī-mət  -ˌmāt 

acclimated; acclimating

: acclimatize