adjust

To make a change of some kind is to adjust. Often the change is necessary because of a changing situation.

• Your body adjusts to changing temperatures.
• People who move to a new country have to adjust to a different culture.
• Many elderly people find that it’s difficult to adjust to new situations.
• You can adjust the settings on your cell phone and customize it to suit your needs.
• Sometimes you have to adjust the antenna on a radio in order to get good reception.
• Have you adjusted yet to living in the United States?

The noun form of the word "adjust" is "adjustment." An adjustment can be big or small.

• It was a big adjustment for Hang to move from Viet Nam to North Dakota.
• Our satellite dish needed an adjustment, so we called a technician.
• The phone company made a small adjustment to our bill when we noticed there was an error.
• What kind of adjustments have you needed to make after moving to the United States?

A mechanic makes adjustments to machines by using a wrench.

The word "adjustable" is an adjective:

adjustable wrench

• An adjustable wrench is a very handy tool to use around the house.
• The driver’s seat in most cars is adjustable.
• You have adjustable settings on your computer.

Note: Don’t pronounce the "d" in the word "adjust." It sounds like this:  uh just

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This page was first published on December 30, 2012. It was updated on September 25, 2015.