ACCEPT Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

accept

[ ak-sept, ik- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favor:
to accept a present;
to accept a proposal.
Antonyms:
to agree or consent to; accede to:
to accept a treaty;
to accept an apology.
Synonyms:
to respond or answer affirmatively to:
to accept an invitation.
to undertake the responsibility, duties, honors, etc., of:
to accept the office of president.
to receive or admit formally, as to a college or club.
to accommodate or reconcile oneself to:
to accept the situation.
to regard as true or sound; believe:
to accept a claim;
to accept Catholicism.
Synonyms:
to regard as normal, suitable, or usual.
to receive as to meaning; understand.
Commerce. to acknowledge, by signature, as calling for payment, and thus to agree to pay, as a draft.
(in a deliberative body) to receive as an adequate performance of the duty with which an officer or a committee has been charged; receive for further action:
The report of the committee was accepted.
to receive or contain (something attached, inserted, etc.):
This socket won't accept a three-pronged plug.
to receive (a transplanted organ or tissue) without adverse reaction. Compare reject ( def 7 ).

verb (used without object)

to accept an invitation, gift, position, etc. (sometimes followed by of ).

/ ə��ˈ��ɛ�� /

verb

to take or receive (something offered)
to give an affirmative reply to
to accept an invitation
to take on the responsibilities, duties, etc, of
he accepted office
to tolerate or accommodate oneself to
to consider as true or believe in (a philosophy, theory, etc)
I cannot accept your argument
may take a clause as object to be willing to grant or believe
you must accept that he lied
to receive with approval or admit, as into a community, group, etc
commerce to agree to pay (a bill, draft, shipping document, etc), esp by signing
to receive as adequate, satisfactory, or valid
to receive, take, or hold (something applied, inserted, etc)
archaic.
intrsometimes foll byof to take or receive an offer, invitation, etc

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Confusables Note

The verbs accept and except are sometimes confused because of their similar pronunciations, especially in rapid speech. Accept means “to take or receive” ( I accept this trophy ), while except means “to exclude” ( Certain types of damage are excepted from coverage in this insurance policy ).

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Derived Forms

��ˈ��ٱ��, noun

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��·��·�� verb
��·��·�� verb (used with object)

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of accept¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English accepten, from Middle French accepter, from Latin �� “to take, receive regularly,” frequentative of accipere “to take, receive,” equivalent to ac- ac- + -cipere, combining form of capere “to take”; captive ( def )

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of accept¹

C14: from Latin ��, from ad- to + capere to take

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Hamas has agreed only to an extension involving the release of fewer hostages than Israel will accept, and ultimately wants to return to the original ceasefire framework.

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She argued the previous judge was wrong to have concluded that the committee could make decisions without such analysis, and said the duke does not accept that "bespoke" means "better".

From

Field offices are no longer accepting walk-in appointments.

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As an infectious disease researcher, I struggle to accept the notion that what we did made no difference.

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Beijing "firmly opposes and will never accept such hegemonic and bullying practices," foregin ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters on Wednesday.

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Related 51�Թ�s

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Accept Vs. Except

What’s the difference between accept and except?

Accept is a common word with many meanings, most of which involve receiving something, taking something on, or putting up with something. Except is most commonly used as a preposition meaning excluding or but, as in Everyone was invited except me, or as a conjunction meaning but for the fact that, as in I would have called, except I lost my phone.

Except can also be used as a verb meaning to exclude, as in the common phrase present company excepted, but its verb use is much less common. In contrast, accept is always a verb.

To remember the difference in the spelling between accept and except, remember that except shares the prefix ex- with exclude, which is fitting since except is commonly used in situations in which someone or something has been excluded.

Accept, on the other hand, is often used in situations in which something is acquired.

Here’s an example of accept and except used correctly in the same sentence.

Example: I usually accept your excuses, except this time I know they’re not true.

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between accept and except.

Quiz yourself on accept vs. except!

Should accept or except be used in the following sentence?

The cake was great _____ for the icing, which was a little too sweet.

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