acquire
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.
Origin of acquire
1synonym study For acquire
Other words for acquire
Other words from acquire
- ac·quir·a·ble, adjective
- ac·quir·a·bil·i·ty, noun
- ac·quir·er, noun
- pre·ac·quire, verb, pre·ac·quired, pre·ac·quir·ing.
- re·ac·quire, verb (used with object), re·ac·quired, re·ac·quir·ing.
- self-ac·quired, adjective
- un·ac·quir·a·ble, adjective
- un·ac·quired, adjective
- well-ac·quired, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use acquire in a sentence
Today, a lack of provenance often means one of two things: an artifact is forged or an artifact was illegally acquired.
Dismembering History: The Shady Online Trade in Ancient Texts | Candida Moss | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe acquired $1 billion worth of art and tangled scandalously with the authorities.
The Mysterious Death of the Art World’s Favorite Sheikh | Lizzie Crocker | November 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTKlein argued that Ed acquired his following by “an ancient ritual known as sexist jokes and lots of T&A.”
Canada’s Subversive Sock Puppet: Ed the Sock Isn’t Afraid to Say Anything | Soraya Roberts | November 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTU.S. officials have acquired more bling from overseas than Kanye West and Kim Kardashian had on their wedding registry.
Meditation Rugs, Swords, and Horse Head Fiddles: The Strangest Gifts Given to Government Bigwigs | Ben Jacobs | November 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe two U.S. entities, along with the RDIF, last year acquired a majority interest in a leading Russian tire maker, Voltyre-Prom.
Exclusive: Did This Manhattan Firm Help Shield a Russian Fund From Sanctions? | Bill Conroy | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
What he has done in any one species or distinct kind of writing would have been sufficient to have acquired him a great name.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellBut the contrast thus presented is one that has acquired a new meaning in the age in which we live.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockOf course, newly acquired Ferns will pay for extra attention in the way of watering until they have secured a proper roothold.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard BastinThese additional languages can be acquired easily if they are learnt in the right way.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsHe was a bookbinder previous to going upon the stage; and acquired a high degree of reputation as an actor.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
British Dictionary definitions for acquire
/ (əˈkwaɪə) /
(tr) to get or gain (something, such as an object, trait, or ability), esp more or less permanently
Origin of acquire
1Derived forms of acquire
- acquirable, adjective
- acquirement, noun
- acquirer, noun
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
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