acquire
Americanverb (used with object)
-
acquires,
present (3rd person singular)
-
acquired,
past participle, past
-
acquiring
present participle
-
to come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own.
to acquire property.
-
to gain for oneself through one's actions or efforts.
to acquire learning.
- Synonyms:
- appropriate, attain, earn, win
-
Linguistics. to achieve native or nativelike command of (a language or a linguistic rule or element).
-
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
-
acquirabilitynoun
-
acquirementnoun
-
acquirernoun
-
preacquireverb
-
reacquireverb (used with object)
-
acquirableadjective
-
self-acquiredadjective
-
unacquirableadjective
-
unacquiredadjective
-
well-acquiredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
acquiresimple
-
acquiressimple
-
have acquiredperfect
-
has acquiredperfect
-
am acquiringprogressive
-
are acquiringprogressive
-
is acquiringprogressive
-
have been acquiringperfect progressive
-
has been acquiringperfect progressive
Past
-
acquiredsimple
-
had acquiredperfect
-
was acquiringprogressive
-
were acquiringprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Frindle
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Boy: Tales of Childhood
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Uber Eats’ rival DoorDash last week announced its agreement to acquire Instacart for $17 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
The crypto exchange said it had replenished 98 percent of the affected assets by drawing on its own funds, with the remaining amount involving little-traded currencies that are harder to acquire.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
On the surface, “this sounds like a smart strategy,” said Gu, because companies can treat their richly valued shares as an opportunity “to acquire some real assets.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
As retailers gather more information about their customers and acquire increasingly sophisticated pricing tools, shoppers risk knowing less about why they’re paying what they’re paying.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
We gradually acquire the courage of our own convictions, until we are able to say, with some justice, that we know what we like.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
In the former, the protagonist acquires a scrapbook containing a 17th-century drawing of a demon that will leap from the page.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
"The charge a droplet acquires as it slides depends heavily on the specific surface -- we measured differences of up to a factor of ten," explains Zhongyuan Ni, the study's first author.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Brave, apprehensive, obtuse and brilliant, George acquires something new in this book: a bit of swagger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Goldman Sachs sees opportunity and acquires ETF company Neos.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Like many other pseudosciences, numerology is ancient, and acquires some respectability from its religious associations.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Ippolito called the company, only to find out that it had been acquired in December by Wedding Gown Preservation Co. “and apparently with that, all of their files are gone.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
With Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley hurt and newly acquired quarterback Jacoby Brissett on the way, the Ravens will start third-string quarterback, undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
He said MTY acquired too many concepts, “some good and some bad,” and that overall it isn’t generating organic growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Pfizer boosts full-year guidance on the back of its latest quarter, citing growth in non-Covid offerings and acquired products.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
Thanks to the Cognitive Revolution, Homo sapiens acquired the ability to say, ‘The lion is the guardian spirit of our tribe.’
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Thrive Holdings is acquiring ADT, part of a buying spree that shows his ambitions beyond traditional venture capital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the semiconductor giant is close to acquiring the San Jose, Calif.-based company, whose components are used in data centers, according to people familiar with the matter.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Over the past year, Musk has moved to consolidate his businesses, with SpaceX acquiring xAI and X, formerly Twitter, before going public this year.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
The Lakers looked into acquiring center Jericho Sims from the Milwaukee Bucks during the preseason in exchange for Knecht, sources close to the situation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
“In that case”—Mother sighed—“kindly refrain from acquiring any more houses for the time being, my little landlord.”
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
