accommodate

accommodate — verb

1. to give a person somewhere to sleep or stay, or to give an object somewhere it c

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to give a person somewhere to sleep or stay, or to give an object somewhere it can be kept.

Example

The small hotel in Hualien can accommodate up to forty guests each night.

subject is a building or institution providing lodging

After the typhoon, the school gym was used to accommodate two hundred families.

passive-friendly: be used to accommodate [people]

Common collocations
  • accommodate guests
  • accommodate visitors
  • accommodate up to [number]
Synonyms
  • house

    more general; emphasises providing a building

  • lodge

    formal; usually a temporary stay

  • put up

    informal phrasal verb; usually short-term

Grammar Patterns

accommodate + somebody

accommodate + something

Usage Note

Subject is usually a building, vehicle, or institution rather than an individual person. Often takes a number ('accommodate up to 200 people') to show capacity.

Common Mistakes

My uncle accommodated me a place to sleep.
My uncle gave me a place to sleep.
accommodate does not take two objects; the person is the only object.

2. to do something helpful for a person, or to provide what they ask for or require

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to do something helpful for a person, or to provide what they ask for or require.

Example

The chef happily accommodated Mateo's request for a meal without nuts.

accommodate + somebody's + request

Our school tries to accommodate students with hearing or vision difficulties.

object is people with specific needs

Common collocations
  • accommodate a request
  • accommodate someone's needs
  • accommodate someone's wishes
Synonyms
  • oblige

    more formal; specifically about doing a favour

  • satisfy

    broader; can apply to abstract demands

  • cater to

    implies ongoing service for a group

Antonyms
  • refuse

    the direct opposite of agreeing to help

Grammar Patterns

accommodate + somebody

accommodate + somebody's + needs

Usage Note

Frequently followed by 'request', 'needs', or 'wishes'. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense means YOU help the other person; sense 3 means YOU change yourself to fit them.

Common Mistakes

The hotel accommodated to my request.
The hotel accommodated my request.
no preposition before the object.

3. to alter your habits or actions in order to fit a different setting or to please

3.verbtransitive / intransitiveC2
Definition

to alter your habits or actions in order to fit a different setting or to please another person.

Example

Xiomara quickly accommodated himself to the colder weather and shorter days in Helsinki.

reflexive: accommodate oneself to + situation

Older workers must accommodate themselves to new digital tools at the factory.

subject is the person changing

Common collocations
  • accommodate oneself to
  • accommodate to change
  • accommodate to a new environment
Synonyms
  • adapt

    much more common in everyday speech

  • adjust

    smaller, finer changes than adapt

  • conform

    implies matching a rule or standard

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

accommodate oneself to + something

accommodate to + something

Usage Note

Often reflexive ('accommodate oneself to') or intransitive with 'to'. Distinguish from sense 2: here the subject changes itself; in sense 2 the subject helps another person.

Common Mistakes

I cannot accommodate with the new schedule.
I cannot accommodate to the new schedule.' / 'I cannot accommodate myself to the new schedule.
use 'to', not 'with'.

4. (of the eye) to alter the curve of the lens so that an object near or far become

4.verbintransitiveC2
Definition

(of the eye) to alter the curve of the lens so that an object near or far becomes sharp.

Example

As we grow older, the eye accommodates more slowly when reading small print.

subject: the eye; technical biology context

Children's eyes accommodate easily between a book on the desk and the blackboard.

between + close object + and + far object

Common collocations
  • the eye accommodates
  • lens accommodates
Synonyms
  • focus

    everyday word for the same action

  • adjust

    general word; not technical

Grammar Patterns

[eye] accommodates

Usage Note

Used in biology and optometry. The subject is always 'eye', 'lens', or 'pupil'. Rare outside scientific writing.

5. to think about a fact, view, or limit and let it shape what you decide or how yo

5.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to think about a fact, view, or limit and let it shape what you decide or how you explain something.

Example

The new policy was rewritten to accommodate the concerns of parents in rural towns.

accommodate + concerns / views / opinions

Any honest theory of climate change must accommodate evidence from ice cores and tree rings.

accommodate + evidence / facts in academic writing

Common collocations
  • accommodate concerns
  • accommodate evidence
  • accommodate constraints
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • ignore

    the opposite: refusing to let the fact shape the outcome

Grammar Patterns

accommodate + something (an opinion / a fact)

Usage Note

Object is usually an abstract noun: a fact, a view, a constraint, a schedule. Common in formal writing about policy, theory, and planning.

Common Mistakes

We accommodated for the new data in our model.
We accommodated the new data in our model.
no 'for' between accommodate and its object.

Word family

  • accommodation
    nounB1
  • accommodating
    adjectiveC1
  • accommodatingly
    adverbC2
  • unaccommodating
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

All four words describe doing something helpful for another person, but they differ in scope and tone. 'Accommodate' is formal and suggests adjusting your own arrangements (a hotel, a school, a flight) to fit someone else's request: 'The chef accommodated her allergy.' 'Oblige' is also formal but narrower — it specifically means doing a small favour because someone politely asks: 'Could you oblige me with a pen?' 'Satisfy' is broader and more abstract; it can take demands, conditions, or curiosity as its object: 'satisfy the requirements'. 'Cater to' implies an ongoing service aimed at a group, often with a slight negative tone of giving in: 'The magazine caters to wealthy readers.' Choose 'accommodate' when an institution adjusts; 'oblige' for a single polite favour; 'cater to' for serving a market.

accommodate ↗oblige ↗satisfy ↗cater to ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • accommodate up to
  • accommodate the needs of
  • accommodate oneself to

Prepositions

  • accommodate to
  • accommodate with

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Comes from Latin 'accommodare', built from 'ad-' meaning 'to' and 'commodus' meaning 'fitting' or 'suitable'. English borrowed the verb in the late 1500s, first in the sense of making something fit, then later for fitting a person into a room or fitting a request into one's plans. The modern senses — providing lodging, helping someone, and adapting oneself — all preserve the original idea of making things match.