acquire
Americanverb (used with object)
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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:
Truelink Capital is nearing a deal to acquire Lyons Magnus that values the fruit-based ingredients and beverage maker at around $1 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The prophecy states that they’ll acquire the powers of “Break” – to dismantle or undo something – and “Seal” to contain, reconstruct or suppress something.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Quadir thought Valeant’s business model—borrowing to acquire other pharma companies and then raising the prices of their drugs—wasn’t sustainable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
The nonprofit Fred Brown Recovery Services was seeking to acquire the five-acre property and turn it into a 106-bed inpatient recovery center for “veterans, the justice-involved, the unhoused, and those with co-occurring conditions.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
During his own medical education Holmes had seen firsthand how desperate schools were to acquire corpses, whether freshly dead or skeletonized.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The research expands on decades of work exploring how the brain acquires new abilities.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
Individuals can’t request debt relief because the nonprofit acquires bundled debt for thousands of people at once.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Chevron expects to make a final investment decision on building a gas-fired power plant for the project after it acquires necessary permits later this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
And yet invisibility makes that power easier to expand because citizens stop feeling the intrusion even while the state acquires increasingly intimate access to ordinary life.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
I say, therefore, that in completely new principalities, where there is a new prince, greater or lesser difficulty in maintaining them exists according to the greater or lesser virtue of the person who acquires them.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” Pitaro wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Magyar has also vowed to pursue figures who enabled corruption, which watchdogs believe became endemic under his predecessor, and recover public assets from those who "illegally acquired" them.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
In 2023 he was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his campaigning work around acquired brain injury and melanoma - a type of skin cancer.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The Czechoslovak Group, which acquired a German nitrocellulose facility, aims to secure the entire supply chain for artillery shells of various calibers within company facilities across several European countries by year-end.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The doctors call my condition acquired savant syndrome.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
The Dodgers added bullpen depth with upside, acquiring right-hander Seth Halvorsen from Colorado.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Located near Russia and Iran, and with growing tension with Israel, Turkey faces a range of aerial threats and has long been seeking to upgrade its air force including by acquiring the highly advanced F-35.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Buyers have several options for acquiring a home loan: banks, credit unions, mortgage brokers or direct lenders.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The reports also said Paris had considered acquiring the software.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
He looked over his shoulder and said, “Please, my darling Inej, treasure of my heart, won’t you do me the honor of acquiring me a new hat?”
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
