accommodate

/əˈkɒmədeɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈkɑːmədeɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt/ (ame, mw)

accommodate — verb

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

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

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

例句

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]

同義詞
  • house

    more general; emphasises providing a building

  • lodge

    formal; usually a temporary stay

  • put up

    informal phrasal verb; usually short-term

文法句型

accommodate + somebody

accommodate + something

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.動詞及物C1
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
  • oblige

    more formal; specifically about doing a favour

  • satisfy

    broader; can apply to abstract demands

  • cater to

    implies ongoing service for a group

反義詞
  • refuse

    the direct opposite of agreeing to help

文法句型

accommodate + somebody

accommodate + somebody's + needs

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.動詞及物 / 不及物C2
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
  • adapt

    much more common in everyday speech

  • adjust

    smaller, finer changes than adapt

  • conform

    implies matching a rule or standard

反義詞

文法句型

accommodate oneself to + something

accommodate to + something

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.動詞不及物C2
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
  • focus

    everyday word for the same action

  • adjust

    general word; not technical

文法句型

[eye] accommodates

用法筆記

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.動詞及物C1
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
反義詞
  • ignore

    the opposite: refusing to let the fact shape the outcome

文法句型

accommodate + something (an opinion / a fact)

用法筆記

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

常見錯誤

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