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.
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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.
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for acquiring
British Dictionary definitions for acquiring
acquire
/ (əˈkwaɪə) /
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
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Word Origin and History for acquiring
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper