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Which animation studio did Disney acquire in 2006?

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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
• reacquire
  verb (used with object)
• 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

See Examples For:

acquire acquires acquired acquiring

Earlier this week, Guangzhou Automobile Group said it would acquire a 50% stake in FAW Toyota from FAW Group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

As Paramount pursued its $111-million deal to acquire Warner Bros.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

CNN Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Thompson could remain in his role at the news network after Paramount completes its deal to acquire the news network’s parent company, Warner Bros.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Hormel Foods has agreed to acquire Brakebush Brothers, a family-owned value-added chicken processor, for about $1.055 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Alt-A was just what they called crappy mortgage loans for which they hadn’t even bothered to acquire the proper documents—to verify the borrower’s income, say.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Paramount Skydance’s streaming chief Cindy Holland is exiting the studio, clearing the way for HBO Chairman Casey Bloys to claim a key role in the company once Paramount acquires Warner Bros.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

"The charge a droplet acquires as it slides depends heavily on the specific surface -- we measured differences of up to a factor of ten," explains Zhongyuan Ni, the study's first author.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Goldman Sachs sees opportunity and acquires ETF company Neos.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

If Paramount Skydance acquires Warner Bros., production will likely shift to the Warner Bros. lot, with Paramount leased or sold.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

I don’t refer merely to the glaring fact that the minister eventually acquires houses and Cadillacs while the faithful continue to scrub floors and drop their dimes and quarters and dollars into the plate.

From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin

After Mavis acquired it, Midas is adding locations faster than any time in its history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

When the Dodgers acquired left-hander Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, they expected him to be a big part of their postseason plans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The listing noted that the existing property was expanded by DeMille in 1920, when he acquired a neighboring abode that was once home to Charlie Chaplin.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices announced Monday it has acquired World Labs, an artificial intelligence company founded by Fei-Fei Li, one of the field's most prominent researchers, sometimes referred to as "The Godmother of AI."

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

We had acquired, at some time, a friend of Bill's from Biarritz.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

This is because a rough equilibrium exists between the stock market, interest rates and the cost of acquiring a guaranteed lifetime income.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

Some executives are pursuing costly strategies to ensure they can fly, like building their own rockets or potentially acquiring a rocket company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

She recalled sleeping in her car in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel for a few nights because she had spent all her money on acquiring the computers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Once people love a jar rather than merely use it, corporate ownership can start to feel less like a business transaction than someone acquiring custody of a family recipe.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

As any Swanburne girl could tell you, a knack for pithiness is well worth acquiring.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

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