acquaintance

American  

[uh-kweyn-tns] / əˈkweɪn tns /

Also acquaintanceship

noun

acquaintances plural

1. a person known to one, but usually not a close friend.

2. the state of being acquainted or casually familiar with someone or something.

   As far as I know, no one of my acquaintance has traveled around the world.

3. personal knowledge as a result of study, experience, etc..

   a good acquaintance with French wines.

   Synonyms:

   awareness, familiarity

4. (used with a plural verb) the persons with whom one is acquainted.

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acquaintance British  

/ əˈkweɪntəns /

noun

1. a person with whom one has been in contact but who is not a close friend

2. knowledge of a person or thing, esp when slight

3. to come into social contact with

4. those persons collectively whom one knows

5. philosophy the relation between a knower and the object of his knowledge, as contrasted with knowledge by description (esp in the phrase knowledge by acquaintance )

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acquaintance Idioms  

1. see nodding acquaintance; scrape up an acquaintance.

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Synonym Usage

Acquaintance, associate, companion, friend refer to a person with whom one is in contact. An acquaintance is someone recognized by sight or someone known, though not intimately: a casual acquaintance. An associate is a person who is often in one's company, usually because of some work, enterprise, or pursuit in common: a business associate. A companion is a person who shares one's activities, fate, or condition: a traveling companion; companion in despair. A friend is a person with whom one is on intimate terms and for whom one feels a warm affection: a trusted friend.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• acquaintanceship
  noun
• nonacquaintance
  noun
• nonacquaintanceship
  noun
• preacquaintance
  noun
• pseudoacquaintance
  noun
• reacquaintance
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• acquaintances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of acquaintance

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English acoyntaunce, aqueinta(u)nce, from Old French acointance; equivalent to acquaint + -ance

Explanation

An acquaintance is someone you know a little about, but they’re not your best friend or anything. Acquaintance is also having knowledge about something specific, like horror films or the farming techniques of Chinese peasants. The root of acquaintance is the Old French word acointier, a verb meaning “make known.” Being the acquaintance of a person or topic means that you know something about it. An acquaintance is less intimate than a friend, like a person in your class whose name you know, but that’s it. When you “make the acquaintance of” someone, you meet them for the first time. If you know nothing about eggplants, you’d say, “I have little acquaintance with eggplants.”

Example Sentences

But that should not mean resting on our laurels or on the golf cart if a friend or acquaintance reaches out for help.

From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026

The book’s author, Mia Ballard, denied that she had relied on AI to pen the book but said an acquaintance she had hired to edit the novel used AI.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

Ms. Moafi’s reflective performance underscores how her character’s fascination with this new acquaintance becomes both an emotional necessity and a danger to her equilibrium.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

An acquaintance still on board told Cenet the passengers were now isolated in their cabins and wearing masks.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

We should beware of demonising or idealising it on the basis of a superficial acquaintance.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• associate
• colleague
• companion
• friend
• neighbor