acquire

[ uh-kwahyuhr ]
See synonyms for acquire on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),ac·quired, ac·quir·ing.
  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.

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

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

Origin of acquire

1
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

synonym study For acquire

1. See get.

Other words for acquire

Other words from acquire

  • ac·quir·a·ble, adjective
  • ac·quir·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • ac·quir·er, noun
  • pre·ac·quire, verb, pre·ac·quired, pre·ac·quir·ing.
  • re·ac·quire, verb (used with object), re·ac·quired, re·ac·quir·ing.
  • self-ac·quired, adjective
  • un·ac·quir·a·ble, adjective
  • un·ac·quired, adjective
  • well-ac·quired, adjective

Words Nearby acquire

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use acquire in a sentence

  • A child may acquire while quite young and before any methodical education commences a certain feeling for regular form.

    Children's Ways | James Sully
  • I found that I had been allowed to acquire certain bad habits and besetting sins—most people do.

    The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
  • “Doctrine”—the Monroe doctrine declared that no foreign power should acquire additional dominion in America.

    Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
  • Accustomed to the bustle and hurry of a soldier's life, he was too old to acquire the tastes of a life of tranquillity.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
  • Non-resident aliens can acquire no rights incident to residence here except as permitted by the federal government.

British Dictionary definitions for acquire

acquire

/ (əˈkwaɪə) /


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

Origin of acquire

1
C15: via Old French from Latin acquīrere, from ad- in addition + quaerere to get, seek

Derived forms of acquire

  • acquirable, adjective
  • acquirement, noun
  • acquirer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012