accommodate

verb

ac·​com·​mo·​date ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt 

accommodated; accommodating

transitive verb

1

: to provide with something desired, needed, or suited

I needed money, and they accommodated me with a loan.

2

a

: to make room for

rebuilt the ship to accommodate the bigger containers

b

: to hold without crowding or inconvenience

a hotel that can accommodate about 100 people

3

: to bring into agreement or concord : reconcile

Investors quickly accommodated themselves to the new market conditions.

4

: to give consideration to : to allow for

trying to accommodate the special interests of various groups

5

: to make fit, suitable, or congruous

intransitive verb

: to adapt oneself

also : to undergo visual accommodation

accommodative

ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdā-tiv 

adjective

accommodativeness noun

accommodator

ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdā-tər 

noun

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Common Misspellings

accomadate, accomdate, accomidate, accomodate

Synonyms

• fit
• hold
• take

Choose the Right Synonym for 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.

businesses accommodating themselves to the new political reality

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

Examples of accommodate in a Sentence

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

Over 600 people can be accommodated on the cruise ship.

The ceilings were too low to accommodate his terrific height.

They were kind enough to accommodate me with a ride to the train station.

I asked them for additional money, and they accommodated me with a loan.

He would often change his schedule to accommodate his clients.

New facilities are being added to accommodate the special needs of elderly residents.

Smart investors quickly accommodated to the new market conditions.

Recent Examples on the Web

This underscores the financial pressures that any company using AI is under to accommodate intensive workloads. —Chris McHenry, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024

Aqua, set to launch in March, is 10% bigger than its predecessors in the line’s Prima Class and accommodates about 3,600 passengers at double occupancy (though still smaller than the preceding Breakaway Plus Class). —Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2024

Reservations can be made online, and walk-ins can be accommodated. —Karoline Leonard, Austin American-Statesman, 17 Dec. 2024

Picture lights, sconces, and lamps all throughout can accommodate various lighting permutations. —Michael Boodro, Architectural Digest, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin accommodātus, past participle of accommodāre "to fit on, apply, make agree, make suitable, adapt," from ad- ad- + commodāre "to lend, hire, put at the disposal (of), provide," derivative of commodus "convenient, suitable" — more at commode

Note: In part a latinization of Middle French accommoder; John Palsgrave (Lʼéclaircissement de la langue française, 1530) renders accommodate with accommoder.

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Kids Definition

accommodate

verb

ac·​com·​mo·​date ə-ˈkäm-ə-ˌdāt 

accommodated; accommodating

1

: adapt

2

: to bring into agreement

accommodate the differences

3

: to do a favor for : oblige sense 2b

accommodated me with a ride

4

: to provide with something desired: as

a

: to provide with lodgings

b

: to make or have room for

the table accommodates 12 comfortably

5

: to undergo visual accommodation

the lens of the eye accommodates

accommodative

-ˌdāt-iv 

adjective

accommodativeness noun

Medical Definition

accommodate

intransitive verb

ac·​com·​mo·​date ə-ˈkäm-ə-ˌdāt 

accommodated; accommodating

: to adapt oneself

also : to undergo visual accommodation

accommodative

-ˌdāt-iv 

adjective

Legal Definition

accommodate

transitive verb

ac·​com·​mo·​date ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt 

accommodated; accommodating

1

: to make a change or provision for

accommodate a disability

see also reasonable accommodation

2

: to accept without compensation responsibility for a debt of (another person) in the event of nonpayment as a way of reassuring a reluctant creditor see also accommodation paper at paper, accommodation party at party sense 1a

Note: To accommodate a debtor effectively, the party must sign the debt instrument, adding words describing limitations or conditions to the accommodation, if any.

accommodation

ə-ˌkä-mə-ˈdā-shən 

noun