acquire

[ uh-kwahyuhr ]

See synonyms for acquire on Thesaurus.com

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.

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

synonym study For acquire

1. See get.

Other words for acquire

2	win, earn, attain; appropriate

See synonyms for acquire on Thesaurus.com

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

Acquirers either obtain by consent, or appropriate without consent.
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume III (of 4) | George Grote

British Dictionary definitions for acquire

acquire

/ (əˈkwaɪə) /

verb

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

Origin of acquire

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

Derived 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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