adopt

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• transitive verb To take on the legal responsibilities as parent of (a child that is not one's biological child).
• transitive verb To become the owner or caretaker of (a pet, especially one from a shelter).
• transitive verb To take and follow (a course of action, for example) by choice or assent.
• transitive verb To take up and make one's own.
• transitive verb To move to or resettle in (a place).
• transitive verb To take on or assume.
• transitive verb To vote to accept.
• transitive verb To choose as standard or required in a course.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To choose for or take to one's self; make one's own by selection or assent; receive or agree to as a personal belonging or opinion: as, to adopt a name or an idea; an adopted citizen or country; the meeting adopted the resolution.
• Specifically, to admit into a relation of affiliation; confer the rights or privileges of kinship upon, as one who is not naturally related or connected; especially, to receive and treat as a child or member of one's family, etc.: as, the orphans were adopted by friends. See adoption, 2. To take or receive into any kind of new relationship: as, to adopt a person as an heir, or as a friend, guide, or example.
• In euchre, to play with the suit turned up for trumps: a privilege of the dealer.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To take by choice into relationship, as, child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.; esp. to take voluntarily (a child of other parents) to be in the place of, or as, one's own child.
• transitive verb To take or receive as one's own what is not so naturally; to select and take or approve

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb transitive To take by choice into relationship, as, child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.
• verb transitive To take voluntarily (a child of other parents) to be in the place of, or as, one's own child.
• verb transitive To obtain (a pet) from a shelter or the wild.
• verb transitive To take by choice into the scope of one's responsibility.
• verb transitive To take or receive as one's own what is not so naturally.
• verb transitive To select and take or approve.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• verb put into dramatic form
• verb choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans
• verb take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own
• verb take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect
• verb take up and practice as one's own
• verb take on titles, offices, duties, responsibilities
• verb take into one's family