1 [I,T] to take a child into your family and treat him/her as your own child by law 收养;领养:
They couldn't have children so they adopted.他们不能生育,所以就领养孩子。They're hoping to adopt a child.他们想要领养一个孩子。
2 [T] to take and use sth 采取;采用:
What approach did you adopt when dealing with the problem?你是采用什么办法来处理这个问题的? ➔adoptedadjan adopted child 养子;养女
➔adoptionnoun [C,U]
The number of adoptions has risen in the past year (= the number of children being adopted).领养孩子的数目在过去一年有所增加。