acquisition

American  

[ak-wuh-zish-uhn] / ˌæk wəˈzɪʃ ən /

noun

1. the act of acquiring or gaining possession.

   the acquisition of real estate.

2. something acquired; addition.

   public excitement about the museum's recent acquisitions.

3. the purchase of one business enterprise by another.

   the acquisition of a rival corporation;

   mergers and acquisitions.

4. Linguistics. the act or process of achieving mastery of a language or a linguistic rule or element.

   child language acquisition; second language acquisition.

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acquisition British  

/ ˌækwɪˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of acquiring or gaining possession

2. something acquired

3. a person or thing of special merit added to a group

4. astronautics the process of locating a spacecraft, satellite, etc, esp by radar, in order to gather tracking and telemetric information

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Usage

What does acquisition mean? Acquisition most commonly means the process of obtaining something or the thing that is obtained. It is a noun form of the verb acquire, which most commonly means to get, buy, or learn. Acquire and acquisition have a lot of meanings that vary with context. Most of them refer to the act of getting something permanently. Acquisition is commonly used to refer to a company that is acquired by another company. It’s especially used this way in the phrase mergers and acquisitions. It’s also used in a specific way in the context of linguistics: language acquisition is the process of becoming fluent in a language. Example: The company announced plans for the acquisition of its largest competitor, raising concerns about it becoming a monopoly.

Other Word Forms

• acquisitional adjective
• acquisitor noun
• preacquisition noun
• proacquisition adjective
• reacquisition noun
• superacquisition noun

Etymology

Origin of acquisition

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English adquisicioun, a(c)quisicion, from Latin acquīsītiōn-, stem of acquīsītiō, from acquīsīt(us) “acquired” (past participle of acquīrere; acquire ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

The deal, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, should be materially earnings accretive from the second year of the acquisition, NLB said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Deterra has a royalty over the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada following its 2024 acquisition of Trident Royalties.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

With the $505 million termination fee hanging over any transaction, no acquisition deal has been announced in the six months since Braemar hung a “For Sale” sign.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

The acquisition is expected to trigger substantial layoffs and other cost-cuts as the new owners consolidate two legendary studios and TV operations, including dozens of cable channels.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

In addition to Burkhart’s testimony, White had testified to Ramsey’s confession, and witnesses had described Hale’s fraudulent acquisition of the insurance policy.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

• addition
• gain
• procurement
• purchase
• recovery