acquire
Americanverb (used with object)
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acquires,
present (3rd person singular)
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acquired,
past participle, past
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acquiring
present participle
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to come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own.
to acquire property.
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to gain for oneself through one's actions or efforts.
to acquire learning.
- Synonyms:
- appropriate, attain, earn, win
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Linguistics. to achieve native or nativelike command of (a language or a linguistic rule or element).
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Military. to locate and track (a moving target) with a detector, as radar.
verb
Usage
What does acquire mean? Acquire most commonly means to get, buy, or learn. Acquire has a lot of meanings that vary with context. Most of them refer to the act of getting something permanently. It has more specific meanings in linguistics and in the context of the military. It’s easy to misspell acquire as aquire, so don’t forget the c. Example: When the merger is complete, our company will have acquired its largest competitor.
Synonym Usage
See get.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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acquirabilitynoun
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acquirementnoun
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acquirernoun
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preacquireverb
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reacquireverb (used with object)
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acquirableadjective
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self-acquiredadjective
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unacquirableadjective
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unacquiredadjective
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well-acquiredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acquiresimple
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acquiressimple
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have acquiredperfect
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has acquiredperfect
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am acquiringprogressive
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are acquiringprogressive
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is acquiringprogressive
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have been acquiringperfect progressive
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has been acquiringperfect progressive
Past
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acquiredsimple
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had acquiredperfect
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was acquiringprogressive
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were acquiringprogressive
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had been acquiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
To acquire means to get or come to own something. You acquire an education by your own effort. You acquire a painting by paying for it or by someone giving it to you. You acquire a sense of calm in crisis through experience. The list of things you can acquire includes: an object, a trait, a skill, or an ability. An acquired taste is something that people usually don't like when they first experience it, but later they come to enjoy it, such as raw clams or marmite. The verb acquire was borrowed from Latin acquīrere "to add to," from the prefix ad- "at, toward" plus quaerere "to seek, get."
Vocabulary lists containing acquire
List 4
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Frindle
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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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.
See Examples For:
Since Walter took over, the team has spent lavishly to acquire superstar talent such as Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, and the club has deferred some of the biggest contract payments deep into the future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
But it will probably take years for Bronin to acquire the credibility on Social Security that Larson possessed, even assuming that he wishes to do so.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
“You do not need to acquire all three; you can acquire any number of them, so long as each replacement property you acquire is among the identified properties.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
At some participating businesses, fans will be able to acquire limited-edition merchandise and Laufey-themed specialty drinks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
And embryogenesis attempts to capture the future: How does a single cell create a living thing that will eventually acquire its particular form?
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Goldman Sachs sees opportunity and acquires ETF company Neos.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
The research expands on decades of work exploring how the brain acquires new abilities.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
The organization acquires medical debt in bulk from hospitals, physician groups, collection agencies and other groups for a fraction of the cost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
And yet invisibility makes that power easier to expand because citizens stop feeling the intrusion even while the state acquires increasingly intimate access to ordinary life.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
Like many other pseudosciences, numerology is ancient, and acquires some respectability from its religious associations.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Even after Long Beach City College acquired the venue from the city for $1 in 1987, it was the home stadium for Poly High School’s powerhouse program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Sapporo USA had acquired Stone Brewing in 2022, according to the beer trade publication Brewbound.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Ode in May acquired Fractional AI, an AI-services startup where most of the venture’s AI engineers worked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Venture-capital investors profit when those portfolio companies get acquired or go public at valuations that can be, in rare instances, exponentially higher than the early investors paid for their stakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Patience and stealth were acquired by long experience.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
He led a group that included another Guggenheim executive and Magic Johnson in acquiring the Dodgers for $2.15 billion in 2012.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Taiwan has been boosting defence spending for years and acquiring smaller and more nimble weaponry, including drones, to enable its military to wage asymmetric warfare against China.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
It was also a story about millions of businesses acquiring the ability - and the incentive - to accept digital payments.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The Pentagon has recently spent billions acquiring new drone and counterdrone technology and formed special units to operate it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“I wonder how one would go about acquiring industrial-strength blue dye,” she said, and then held a tree branch back for me.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
