acquire

[uh-kwahyuh r]

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

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

Related formsac·quir·a·ble, adjectiveac·quir·a·bil·i·ty, nounac·quir·er, nounpre·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, adjectiveun·ac·quir·a·ble, adjectiveun·ac·quired, adjectivewell-ac·quired, adjective

Synonyms for acquire

1. See get. 2. win, earn, attain; appropriate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for acquires

amass, earn, buy, get, win, gain, have, collect, promote, achieve, take, cop, land, secure, annex, gather, procure, wangle, snag, access

Examples from the Web for acquires

Contemporary Examples of acquires

Facebook, in effect, already is selling the businesses it acquires to others.
Silicon Valley Thinks You’re a Fool
Daniel Gross
April 2, 2014
Wes acquires a hat, ring, heart stones, flowers, his baby blanket, a cloth angel, photographs.
Inside a Home Funeral
Melissa Roberts Weidman
February 5, 2013
And there is no question that once he acquires it, history shifts immediately.
What Bibi Said In the Run-Up To Iraq
Ali Gharib
September 20, 2012
Since the under-40s are less white than the over-65s, this battle between generations also acquires an unmistakable racial cast.
David's Book Club: The Age of Austerity
David Frum
February 21, 2012
That imbalance will continue even if and when Iran acquires nuclear capability.
Iran Blusters but Israel Has the Edge
Bruce Riedel
September 28, 2011

Historical Examples of acquires

Mix this gradually into half a pound of rice flour, and then stir it over a gentle fire till it acquires the thickness of jelly.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
Bodhi tree, the tree under which Buddha acquires enlightenment.
The Buddha
Paul Carus
In Babylonia, moreover, it acquires the force of vassal-king.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria
Morris Jastrow
In this it is worked for half an hour, when it acquires a deep blue color.
Textiles
William H. Dooley
Yet the jest, like the proverb, acquires a value by becoming current.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 3 No 2, February 1863
Various

British Dictionary definitions for acquires

acquire

verb

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

Derived Formsacquirable, adjectiveacquirement, nounacquirer, noun

Word 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

Word Origin and History for acquires

acquire

mid-15c., acqueren, from Old French aquerre "acquire, gain, earn, procure," from Vulgar Latin *acquaerere, from Latin acquirere "to seek in addition to" (see acquisition). Reborrowed in current form from Latin c.1600. Related: Acquired; acquiring.