acquire

American  

[uh-kwahyuhr] / əˈkwaɪər /

verb (used with object)

acquires, present (3rd person singular) acquired, past participle, past acquiring present participle

1. to come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own.

   to acquire property.

2. to gain for oneself through one's actions or efforts.

   to acquire learning.

   Synonyms:

   appropriate, attain, earn, win

3. Linguistics. to achieve native or nativelike command of (a language or a linguistic rule or element).

4. Military. to locate and track (a moving target) with a detector, as radar.

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acquire British  

/ əˈkwaɪə /

verb

1. (tr) to get or gain (something, such as an object, trait, or ability), esp more or less permanently

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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

• acquirability
  noun
• acquirement
  noun
• acquirer
  noun
• preacquire
  verb
• acquirable
  adjective
• self-acquired
  adjective
• unacquirable
  adjective
• unacquired
  adjective
• well-acquired
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• acquiring
  present
• acquired
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• acquire
  simple
• acquires
  simple
• have acquired
  perfect
• has acquired
  perfect
• am acquiring
  progressive
• are acquiring
  progressive
• is acquiring
  progressive
• have been acquiring
  perfect progressive
• has been acquiring
  perfect progressive

Past

• acquired
  simple
• had acquired
  perfect
• was acquiring
  progressive
• were acquiring
  progressive
• had been acquiring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will acquire
  simple
• will have acquired
  perfect
• will be acquiring
  progressive
• will have been acquiring
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

Building-materials supplier CRH said it will acquire rival Arcosa in a deal valued at roughly $8.5 billion, including debt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026

AbbVie said it plans to acquire all outstanding shares for $135.11 each in cash, in a $10.9 billion acquisition of the Massachusetts-based biotech company.

From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026

Older generations might retort that they managed to acquire all this knowledge without the help of the internet.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026

Oppenheimer analysts on Thursday raised their target to $250 from $190, citing SpaceX’s plan to acquire the artificial-intelligence firm Cursor, which is seen as a leading in agentic coding.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 20, 2026

To acquire two towns in Lombardy, they had made the King master of two-thirds of Italy.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

Related Words

• achieve
• amass
• bring in
• buy
• collect
• earn
• gain
• get
• have
• pick up
• promote
• take
• win