acquire

[uh-kwahyuhr]

verb (used with object)

acquired, acquiring 

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.

acquire

/ əˈkwaɪə /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• acquirable adjective
• acquirability noun
• acquirer noun
• preacquire verb
• reacquire verb (used with object)
• self-acquired adjective
• unacquirable adjective
• unacquired adjective
• well-acquired adjective
• acquirement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of acquire¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of acquire¹

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

Synonym Study

See get.

Example Sentences

The knowledge Neal and Samara have acquired since losing Anthony has felt to them like a missing piece that makes sense of his story, and a light illuminating their path ahead.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Exact Sciences shares surged 25% following a report that Abbott Laboratories is nearing a deal to acquire the cancer diagnostics company.

Read more on Barron's

The Canadian investment firm said it plans to use that money, plus additional co-investments and debt, to build and acquire as much as $100 billion worth of AI infrastructure.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Recently Meta has been trying to monetize WhatsApp through paid offerings for businesses, but more than a decade after acquiring the platform, Meta still isn’t seeing huge revenue contributions from it.

Read more on MarketWatch

La-Z-Boy’s retail segment grew due to new and acquired stores, while its wholesale business recorded higher sales on strength in its core North America wholesale brand, the company said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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

When To Use

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.