procure
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to obtain or acquire; secure
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to obtain (women or girls) to act as prostitutes
Usage
What does procure mean? To procure something is to obtain or get it, especially through special means or extra effort. The word is especially used in the context of the formal, official process of purchasing and obtaining materials, supplies, or equipment, particularly in the context of business or government. The noun form procurement most commonly refers to this process. Many large companies and government agencies have a procurement department that handles the ordering and acquisition of supplies. Such a department is often simply referred to as procurement, as in You’ll have to ask procurement to order those materials. Procurement can also be used in a general way to refer to the act or process of procuring in any context. Example: It took me a few months to track it down, but I was able to procure that rare book for her birthday.
Synonym Usage
See get.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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unprocuredadjective
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self-procuredadjective
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procurancenoun
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procurementnoun
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self-procuringadjective
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procurableadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has procuredperfect 3rd person singular
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have procuredperfect
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are procuringprogressive
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have been procuringperfect progressive
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am procuringprogressive 1st person singular
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has been procuringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is procuringprogressive 3rd person singular
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procuringparticiple
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procuressingular 3rd person
Past
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had procuredperfect
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was procuringprogressive singular
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had been procuringperfect progressive
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procuredparticiple
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procuredsimple
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were procuringprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of procure
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English procuren, from Latin prōcūrāre “to take care of”; see pro- 1, cure
Explanation
In prison movies, there's always a character who is able to procure all sorts of contraband from the inside — magazines, playing cards, special soap. If you procure something, you get it or bring it about by special effort. Procure's synonym obtain is a little formal, but less formal than procure itself. The noun procurement commonly refers to the obtaining of materials and supplies. Procure descends from Middle English procuren, from Old French procurer, "to take care of," from Latin prōcūrāre, formed from the prefix prō-, "for", plus cūrāre, "to care for."
Vocabulary lists containing procure
Animal Farm
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Othello
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Chains
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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.
State and local governments and researchers have worked for over a decade with the owners of those shops to procure, stock and sell healthier products.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
“This is what affordability looks like,” Newsom said at a livestreamed press conference alongside other public officials, a pregnant woman, a doula and the heads of a celebrity-studded nonprofit chosen to procure the diapers.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Oracle plans to procure up to 2.8 gigawatts of Bloom’s fuel cells for its U.S.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
Utilities are expanding multiyear spending plans to build transmission lines, upgrade substations and procure transformers.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
I relied on Wolfie to procure reading material for me and I fear that I took over his life, infringing on both his work and pleasure.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
