accept

First attested about 1380. From Middle English accepten, borrowed from Old French accepter, or directly from Latin acceptō, acceptāre (“receive”), frequentative of accipiō, formed from ad- + capiō (“to take”). Displaced native Old English onfōn.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛpt/, /ækˈsɛpt/

  • Audio (UK):

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛpt/, /ɪkˈsɛpt/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Hong Kong) IPA^(key): /əˈsɛp(t)/
• Homophone: except (in some dialects)
• Hyphenation: ac‧cept
• Rhymes: -ɛpt

accept (third-person singular simple present accepts, present participle accepting, simple past and past participle accepted)

1. (transitive) To receive, especially with a consent, with favour, or with approval.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 20:3:

     Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice.

   • 1714 August 25, Joseph Addison, “The Sequel of the Story of Shalum and Hilpa”, in The Spectator, number 585; republished in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq, volume 4, London: Jacob Tonson, 1721, page 112:

     The Chinese say, that a little time afterwards she accepted of a treat in one of the neighbouring hills to which Shalum had invited her.

   • 1842, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter III, in Zanoni. […], volume I, London: Saunders & Otley, […], →OCLC, book the second (Art, Love, and Wonder), page 151:

     I bid thee banish from thy heart all thought of me, but as one whom the Future cries aloud to thee to avoid. Glyndon, if thou acceptest his homage, will love thee till the tomb closes upon both.

2. (transitive) To admit to a place or a group.

   The Boy Scouts were going to accept him as a member.

3. (transitive) To regard as proper, usual, true, or to believe in.

   I accept the notion that Christ lived.

4. (transitive) To receive as adequate or satisfactory.
5. (transitive) To receive or admit to; to agree to; to assent to; to submit to.

   I accept your proposal, amendment, or excuse.

6. (transitive) To endure patiently.

   I accept my punishment.

7. (transitive) To acknowledge patiently without opposition or resistance.

   We need to accept the fact that restaurants are closed due to COVID-19 and that no amount of wishing or screaming will make them reopen any sooner.

8. (transitive, law, business) To agree to pay.
9. (transitive) To receive officially.

   to accept the report of a committee

10. (intransitive) To receive something willingly.
11. (Philippines) To do a service done by an establishment.

    We accept repairs.

    We accept bookbinding.

• (antonym(s) of “receive with approval”): reject, decline

accept (comparative more accept, superlative most accept)

1. (Early Modern, obsolete) Accepted.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, V-ii:

     Pass our accept and peremptory answer.

accept (plural accepts)

1. (computing) Something that is accepted.

   Antonym: reject

   • 1996, Jim Blinn, Jim Blinn's Corner: A Trip Down the Graphics Pipeline, page 127:

     Almost all line segments will be trivial accepts or trivial rejects, so the above covers the vast majority of cases.

• IPA^(key): [akˈt͡ʃept]

Borrowed from German Akzept, from Latin acceptus.

accept n (plural accepte)

1. acceptance

accept

1. first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of accepta

• IPA^(key): [əkˈsɛp(t)]

accept (third-person singular simple present accepts, present participle acceptin, simple past acceptit, past participle acceptit)

1. accept

• “accept, v.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
• Eagle, Andy, editor (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.

From Latin acceptum, from accipere.

accept c

1. (finance, business) a bill of exchange that has been accepted
2. (finance, business) the acceptance of a bill of exchange

• acceptfrist
• acceptpris
• oren accept

• acceptant
• acceptera

• accept in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• accept in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• accept in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)