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?

mechanicA mechanic makes adjustments to machines by using a wrench.

The word "adjustable" is an adjective:

adjustable wrench 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

Click here to go to the Word of the Day page.

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