acquire

[ uh-kwahyuh r ]

/ əˈkwaɪər /

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.

QUIZZES

CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THIS MIDDLE SCHOOL PART OF SPEECH QUIZ!

How well do you know your adjectives from your adverbs? Your preposition from your pronouns? Your interjections from your conjunctions? Let’s put your knowledge of parts of speech to the text! Note: Many of the following questions will ask you to identify the parts of speech “in order.” That means the first word in all capital letters will correspond to the first option in an answer, and so on.

Question 1 of 10

In order, what parts of speech are the words in all capital letters? Alisa was VERY tired, SO she decided to go to bed.

adverb, adverb

adverb, conjunction

adjective, conjunction

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR acquire ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM acquire

ac·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

Words nearby acquire

acquainted, acquest, acquiesce, acquiescence, acquiescent, acquire, acquired, acquired antibody, acquired behaviour, acquired character, acquired characteristic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for acquiring

The last federal position he held was Inmate--he served more than eight years for his inventive approach to acquiring money.
Election Day In The Big Sleazy|Jeff Greenfield|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You spend three or more hours per day reading about, acquiring or preparing certain kinds of food you believe to be “pure.”
Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Becomes an Obsession|DailyBurn|October 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Juan Carlos has always been slightly obsessed by acquiring money,” says one member of Madrid society.
Will Scandal Sink the Spanish Royal Family?|Tom Sykes|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Acquiring the first license and making the first sale Tuesday morning is crucial on several levels, he says.
The Race to Become Washington State’s First (Legal) Weed Salesman|Abby Haglage|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At least the old elites learned to sail and row while acquiring proof of their right to rule.
We Need More Class Traitors: Solving America’s Meritocracy Problem|Jedediah Purdy|April 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The cities generally succeeded in acquiring the right to govern themselves and obtained a charter to that effect.
A Source Book for Mediaeval History|Oliver J. Thatcher
Only in his mature age he found opportunities of acquiring a more profound knowledge of Hebrew.
History of the Jews, Vol. IV (of VI)|Heinrich Graetz
And as time goes on you succeed in acquiring the easy manner of a brigand.
Lifted Masks|Susan Glaspell
The only form in which a cession can be effected is an agreement embodied in a treaty between the ceding and the acquiring State.
International Law. A Treatise. Volume I (of 2)|Lassa Francis Oppenheim
He had half ruin'd Miss Read's Father by acquiring his note he bound for him.
Benjamin Franklin|Frank Luther Mott

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 forms of acquire

acquirable, 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

acquire

verb (used with object), ac·quired, ac·quir·ing.

QUIZZES

CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THIS MIDDLE SCHOOL PART OF SPEECH QUIZ!

Origin of acquire

SYNONYMS FOR acquire

OTHER WORDS FROM acquire

Words nearby acquire

Words related to acquiring

Example sentences from the Web for acquiring

British Dictionary definitions for acquiring

verb

Derived forms of acquire

Word Origin for acquire