acquire
[ uh-kwahyuh r ]
/ əˈkwaɪər /
verb (used with object), ac·quired, ac·quir·ing.
to come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own: to acquire property.
to gain for oneself through one's actions or efforts: to acquire learning.
Linguistics. to achieve native or nativelike command of (a language or a linguistic rule or element).
Military. to locate and track (a moving target) with a detector, as radar.
Words nearby acquire
Origin of acquire
1400–50; < 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 < Middle French aquerre < Latin
SYNONYMS FOR acquire
1 See get.
2 win, earn, attain; appropriate.
OTHER WORDS FROM acquire
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for acquired
British Dictionary definitions for acquired
acquire
/ (əˈkwaɪə) /
verb
(tr) to get or gain (something, such as an object, trait, or ability), esp more or less permanently
Derived forms of acquire
acquirable, adjectiveacquirement, nounacquirer, nounWord Origin for acquire
C15: via Old French from Latin acquīrere, from ad- in addition + quaerere to get, seek
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for acquired
acquired
[ ə-kwīrd′ ]
adj.
Of or relating to a disease, condition, or characteristic that is not congenital but develops after birth.
Developed in response to an antigen, as resistance to a disease by vaccination or previous infection.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.