To Adopt

1. (transitive) To take by choice into relationship (a child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.)
   1. (transitive) To take voluntarily (a child of other parents) to be in the place of, or as, one's own child.
   2. (transitive) To obtain (a pet) from a shelter or the wild.
   3. (transitive) To take by choice into the scope of one's responsibility.
2. (transitive) To take or receive as one's own what is not so naturally.
3. (transitive) To select and take or approve.
4. (transitive, informal, humorous, chess) to win ten consecutive games against an opponent

Usage notes

In the sense of taking a child into one's family, Modern English makes a distinction between fostering (which is implied to be temporary or informal) and adopting (which is permanent and makes the child legally recognized as part of the family). In older usage the two terms were more interchangeable.