Definition of "adapter"

adapter

/əˈdaptə/

noun
plural adapters
1. One who is capable of adapting to differing situations.
2. One who adapts a thing, e.g. a play.
3. A device or application used to achieve operative compatibility between devices that otherwise are incompatible.
  Quotations
  Sitting in the courtroom ..., their laptops and tablets propped before them, power cables snaking through convoluted adapters, the Twitterati have sight of witnesses at all times – the troubadours, or perhaps the tricoteuses, of the digital revolution.
  2014 April 24, Alan Cowell, “At Pistorius trial, Twitterati have their day in court”, in The New York Times‎
  1. Specifically, a device that permits two or more plugs to be used at a single electrical power point.
  2. Specifically, a device that allows one format of plug to be used with a different format of socket.
  3. Specifically, an AC adapter: a device that reduces voltage and converts AC to DC to allow a battery-powered device to use mains power.