accept
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favor.
to accept a present;
to accept a proposal.
- Antonyms:
- reject
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to agree or consent to; accede to.
to accept a treaty;
to accept an apology.
- Synonyms:
- concede
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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.
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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:
- acknowledge
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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.
verb (used without object)
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 to take or receive an offer, invitation, etc
Usage
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.
Commonly Confused
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 ).
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has acceptedperfect 3rd person singular
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have acceptedperfect
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has been acceptingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is acceptingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
have been acceptingperfect progressive
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are acceptingprogressive
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am acceptingprogressive 1st person singular
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acceptingparticiple
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acceptssingular 3rd person
Past
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had acceptedperfect
-
was acceptingprogressive singular
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had been acceptingperfect progressive
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acceptedsimple
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were acceptingprogressive plural
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acceptedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of accept
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English accepten, from Middle French accepter, from Latin acceptāre “to take, receive regularly,” frequentative of accipere “to take, receive,” equivalent to ac- ac- + -cipere, combining form of capere “to take”; cf. captive ( def. )
Explanation
Please accept ("favorably receive") our apologies, but you're just going to have to accept ("put up with") the fact that this verb has almost a dozen different meanings. You might accept ("take") bribes from people who dislike multiple meanings, or they might challenge you to a duel, which you might accept ("consent to"). When historians record your story, you might accept ("officially receive") their books and accept ("hold as true") the most flattering one. When you apply to cool-people clubs, they'll accept ("admit") you, and when you go broke, they'll accept ("take on") your debt, until the day your coffin accepts ("takes") your weary accepting bones.
Vocabulary lists containing accept
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 4
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Smith himself turns up in “What’s Wrong With Me” for a duet with Rodrigo in which the two learn to accept that love, in the end, might be what kills them.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
But the military government refused to accept this possibility.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
“I accept that we need to have a different role for government in the 2020s and into the 2030s than we have before,” Kyle said at the WSJ Leadership Institute CEO Summit in London.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
The issue is that they accept the premise that AI is so necessary, so all-seeing and so inevitable that we’re using it even in situations where our knowledge and experience have always been sufficient.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
Finally, one of them offers a little more and tells Father it is the last offer he will get, so he had better accept it.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
