adoptar

to adopt

verb ah-dohp-TAHR Less Common

Origin: From Latin adoptare (to choose, take to oneself).

Usage Note

Adoptar covers adopting a child, adopting a policy or measure (adoptar medidas), and taking on a stance or posture (adoptar una postura). The spelling is adopted directly from Latin, with the 'pt' cluster fully pronounced. The noun adopción and adjective adoptivo (adoptive, as in padre adoptivo) are the key derivations.

Examples

"Decidieron adoptar un niño."

Natural Translation

They decided to adopt a child.

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