acquire
Americanverb (used with object)
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acquires,
present (3rd person singular)
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acquired,
past participle, past
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acquiring
present participle
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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.
Synonym Usage
See get.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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acquirabilitynoun
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acquirementnoun
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acquirernoun
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preacquireverb
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reacquireverb (used with object)
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acquirableadjective
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self-acquiredadjective
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unacquirableadjective
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unacquiredadjective
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well-acquiredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acquiresimple
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acquiressimple
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have acquiredperfect
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has acquiredperfect
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am acquiringprogressive
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are acquiringprogressive
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is acquiringprogressive
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have been acquiringperfect progressive
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has been acquiringperfect progressive
Past
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acquiredsimple
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had acquiredperfect
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was acquiringprogressive
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were acquiringprogressive
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had been acquiringperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
To acquire means to get or come to own something. You acquire an education by your own effort. You acquire a painting by paying for it or by someone giving it to you. You acquire a sense of calm in crisis through experience. The list of things you can acquire includes: an object, a trait, a skill, or an ability. An acquired taste is something that people usually don't like when they first experience it, but later they come to enjoy it, such as raw clams or marmite. The verb acquire was borrowed from Latin acquīrere "to add to," from the prefix ad- "at, toward" plus quaerere "to seek, get."
Vocabulary lists containing acquire
List 4
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Frindle
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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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.
See Examples For:
Scuro says it is possible Monaco will look at selling other players to countries whose transfer window remains open in order to acquire the funds they need.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Last month, Advent agreed to acquire a controlling stake in New Zealand Clinical Research from existing shareholders including Auckland-based Waterman Capital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Neither do they appear motivated to acquire pieces that bear no relationship to each other besides the designation “masterpiece.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Ordinary people acquire one more linguistic choice through which to signal agreement, resistance or exhausted indifference.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
His findings were as follows: That falling bodies acquire speed as they fall.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Goldman Sachs sees opportunity and acquires ETF company Neos.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
If Paramount Skydance acquires Warner Bros., production will likely shift to the Warner Bros. lot, with Paramount leased or sold.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The research expands on decades of work exploring how the brain acquires new abilities.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
But in reproducing the fragmentary nature of Susanna Kaysen’s memoir, which became a movie starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, the musical never acquires dramatic momentum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
When a culture grows big enough, it acquires an elite, which needs to monitor things it considers important: money, stored goods, births and deaths, the progression of time.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Barilla Group’s acquisition of the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based startup sets up the latest test of how a scrappy, social-first company maintains its brand edge after being acquired.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
And not just any ostrich — Fiona was the first ostrich Matson acquired when he moved to town, his biggest egg producer and a beloved family pet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
He also acquired banking entities in Switzerland and Africa.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
When the Cubs acquired Crow-Armstrong from the New York Mets as a low-level prospect at the trade deadline in 2021, they were initially a bit confused.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Newton acquired a mass of material intended to establish this peculiar thesis.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Somewhere in the space between obvious joke and well, would you really be surprised?, a meme had begun acquiring the texture of consumer advice.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
In 2016, he spent more than $1 billion acquiring and investing in a 40% stake in PetroDelta for six oil fields, with the Venezuelan government holding the remainder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
While the majority of its public supports a nuclear South Korea, the government has argued that acquiring the bomb is unnecessary and even harmful to the country's network of alliances.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Saudi Arabian Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud bought 50% of Sheffield United in 2013, before acquiring the rest of the club in 2019.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
An affable Victorian gentleman, Franklin was said to be a good-natured bumbler, dogged and clueless, with the naive ideals of a child and a disdain for acquiring backcountry skills.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
