acquire
Americanverb (used with object)
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to come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own.
to acquire property.
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to gain for oneself through one's actions or efforts.
to acquire learning.
- Synonyms:
- appropriate, attain, earn, win
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Linguistics. to achieve native or nativelike command of (a language or a linguistic rule or element).
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Military. to locate and track (a moving target) with a detector, as radar.
verb
Usage
What does acquire mean? Acquire most commonly means to get, buy, or learn.Acquire has a lot of meanings that vary with context. Most of them refer to the act of getting something permanently. It has more specific meanings in linguistics and in the context of the military. It’s easy to misspell acquire as aquire, so don’t forget the c.Example: When the merger is complete, our company will have acquired its largest competitor.
Related Words
See get.
Other Word Forms
- acquirability noun
- acquirable adjective
- acquirement noun
- acquirer noun
- preacquire verb
- reacquire verb (used with object)
- self-acquired adjective
- unacquirable adjective
- unacquired adjective
- well-acquired adjective
Etymology
Origin of acquire
First recorded in 1400–50; from Latin acquīrere “to add to one's possessions, acquire” ( ac- ac- + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere “to search for, obtain”); replacing late Middle English aquere, from Middle French aquerre, from Latin, as above
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.
“The U.S. acquiring Greenland through hostile means—either military or economic coercion—would be unacceptable, and would set a very dangerous precedent,” he said.
Micron said Saturday that it had signed a letter of intent to acquire an advanced semiconductor manufacturing fabrication site from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.
From Barron's
“That could be encouraging the majors to be less dismissive of trading, and who better than Glencore to acquire that capability from?”
Capacity expansion from new and acquired hospitals is also gaining pace, driving stronger earnings momentum into 2026, they add.
On Saturday, the Boise, Idaho-based company said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire an advanced semiconductor manufacturing fabrication site from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.,
Definitions 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.
