Adopts is the third-person singular present tense of adopt, meaning to take up or accept a practice, method, or policy. It can also function as a noun in some contexts, but here it most often appears as a verb. The pronunciation emphasizes the second syllable, and the final /s/ is a clear voiceless fricative in standard varieties.
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"She adopts a more cautious approach after reviewing the data."
"The company adopts sustainable practices across all departments."
"He adopts his mentor’s mindset and applies it to new projects."
"Several communities adopt new technologies to improve efficiency."
Adopts derives from the Latin adoptare, formed from ad- (toward, up to) and optare (to choose). The Latin root optare means to choose or select, giving English adopt and adoption. In medieval Latin, adoptare meant to select or approve; in Old French, adopter entered as adopter, with the meaning of to take as one’s own or to approve. Middle English borrowed adopt in the sense of choosing or taking a child as one’s own, expanding into modern senses of taking up methods, policies, or practices. The shift from “to choose” to “to take up or accept” occurred across the Renaissance and Enlightenment as education, governance, and culture emphasized deliberate adoption of ideas. The -s form simply marks third-person singular present tense or, in some contexts, plural noun forms, while the core base remains adopt- with the -s affix. First known use in English appears in the 14th–15th centuries, tied to legal and familial language before generalizing to broader meanings in the 18th–19th centuries as organizational and methodological adoption became common. Today, adopt plus -s is a frequent verb form in both formal and informal registers, often collocated with words like policies, practices, approaches, and technologies.
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Words that rhyme with "adopts"
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Pronounce as ə-ˈdɒpts in US/UK/AU. The first syllable is a schwa, the second carries primary stress with /ɒ/ as in 'cot' or /ɒp/ as in 'op'ts. End with the voiceless /s/ to make a clear final sibilant. IPA: ə-ˈdɒpts. You’ll want a light, quick kick of the second syllable and a crisp final s to avoid sounding like ‘ad-opts’ as two even beats.
Common errors: (1) misplacing stress, pronouncing a-DOPTS with weak secondary emphasis; (2) merging the /d/ and /ɒ/ into /ɒd/ or adding an extra vowel in the second syllable; (3) not delivering a crisp final /s/, making it sound like a voiced /z/. Correct by stressing the second syllable, keeping /d/ as a clear stop followed by /ɒ/ and finishing with a sharp /s/. Practice with a slight burst to end on the sibilant.
In US/UK/AU, /əˈdɒpts/ is largely consistent; the major difference is vowel quality in /ɒ/: US tends to a broader /ɑ/ in some speakers, while UK and AU lean toward a more rounded open back /ɒ/. Rhotics are typically not prominent in non-rhotic UK varieties, so the /r/ is not pronounced. The /t/ may be flapped in rapid US speech in some contexts, but with a following /s/ it remains an aspirated stop. Overall, the key variance is how the second syllable vowel is realized.
Because it blends a stressed, clipped second syllable with a final voiceless /s/ after a short /ɒ/ vowel. The tricky part is maintaining a precise /d/ stop and transitioning quickly into /ɒ/ then /pts/ without letting the /t/ soften or merge, which can yield /dɒpt/ or /ədopts/. Focus on a crisp stop, consistent vowel height, and a strong final /s/ to avoid a weakening of the sibilant.
In careful speech, it’s a clean /pt/ release followed by a voiceless /s/, effectively /-pts/ when followed by a word boundary or another consonant. In rapid speech, some speakers compress the cluster toward /pt/ with a weak or elided /s/, but the standard, careful pronunciation retains the /s/: /-pts/. If you hear /-pt/ in rapid dialogue, slow down and re-apply the final /s/ to preserve the correct cluster.
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