adjustment
Americannoun
-
adjustments
plural
-
the act of adjusting; adaptation to a particular condition, position, or purpose.
-
the state of being adjusted; orderly relation of parts or elements.
-
a device, as a knob or lever, for adjusting.
the adjustments on a television set.
-
the act of bringing something into conformity with external requirements.
the adjustment of one's view of reality.
-
harmony achieved by modification or change of a position.
They worked out an adjustment of their conflicting ideas.
-
Sociology. a process of modifying, adapting, or altering individual or collective patterns of behavior so as to bring them into conformity with other such patterns, as with those provided by a cultural environment.
-
Insurance. the act of ascertaining the amount of indemnity that the party insured is entitled to receive under the policy, and of settling the claim.
-
a settlement of a disputed account or claim.
-
a change or concession, as in price or other terms, in view of minor defect or the like.
noun
-
the act of adjusting or state of being adjusted
-
a control for regulating
the adjustment for volume is beside the speaker
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
misadjustmentnoun
-
nonadjustmentnoun
-
overadjustmentnoun
-
preadjustmentnoun
-
underadjustmentnoun
-
adjustmentaladjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of adjustment
Explanation
The act of making an alteration or modification is an adjustment. If you buy a new pair of jeans, but they are too long, you can make a quick adjustment and hem them, have someone else hem them, or use safety pins. The process of adapting to your environmental conditions is also called an adjustment. After you leave home for college, both you and your parents will have a period of adjustment. Some people adjust easier to change than others — you may be having a ball going to class, eating cereal for dinner, and making new friends but an adjustment your parents will have to make is that they will need to stop worrying about you.
Vocabulary lists containing adjustment
Schooled
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
A Single Shard
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Word Generation Weekly - Series 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The adjustment to the college game was a bit rough for them at first, and the sisters did not get much playing time together until their junior year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment is intended to help seniors pay for their everyday expenses, such as housing, transportation and healthcare.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will be 3.6% in 2027, up from 2.8% this year, as older people grapple with higher costs for healthcare, housing and groceries.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
It doesn’t expect the measures to materially derail market-share gains by Chinese automakers beyond an initial adjustment period, similar to EU tariffs on full EVs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
It also, incidentally, eliminates the possibility of robots, in complete adjustment, wandering off while still on Earth and thus bringing U. S. Robots face to face with the strict laws against robots on Earth.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Fund managers worldwide keep a close eye on what countries are included or excluded in MSCI's indexes as that can trigger adjustments to their portfolios.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
One proposal under review would scrap annual cost-of-living adjustments altogether for beneficiaries with higher incomes.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Qualifications Scotland said it was committed to making reasonable adjustments so that disabled learners have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
“Smaller, more frequent adjustments are preferable to larger” ones, in part because making bigger moves can be harder for businesses to prepare for, said Hammack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
The technicians were making the final adjustments, checking their meters and gauges.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
