acquired

American

[uh-kwahy-erd] / əˈkwaɪ ərd /

adjective

obtained or procured, such as by purchasing, receiving, learning.
Medicine/Medical. (of a disease or condition) developed by the patient at some point after birth.
Biology. (of a trait) developed by an organism in response to its environment; not inherited.

Other Word Forms

nonacquired adjective
pre-acquired adjective
reacquired adjective
self-acquired adjective
unacquired adjective

Explanation

The adjective acquired describes something you're not born with: you gain or develop it later in life, like your acquired taste for coffee. Acquired comes from the Latin word acquirere, meaning "to seek in addition to. Something acquired is something you have gotten, not something you always had. For example, you may have acquired the habit of buying lots...and lots of sneakers after getting a job in a shoe store. Or, if you have an acquired habit of reading novels, this is something that developed over time. After all, you weren't born reading!

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Vocabulary lists containing acquired

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15

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Evolutionary Biology - Adaptation

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STAAR Biology: Biological Evolution and Classification

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Now, SpaceX regularly launches Falcon 9 rockets, has developed a major satellite-internet business, is testing a mega-rocket and has acquired Musk’s artificial-intelligence startup.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Avanos Medical agreed to be acquired by American Industrial Partners in an all-cash deal valued at $1.27 billion in enterprise value.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

The new investors acquired a 49% stake in the corporate entity behind World Liberty, according to company documents reviewed by the Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

As a scout and general manager, he was a key architect of the Showtime Lakers teams of the 1980s and later acquired both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to build another dynasty.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

They were of a respectable family in the north of England; a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories than that their brother’s fortune and their own had been acquired by trade.

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023