procurement

[proh-kyoor-muhnt, pruh‑]

noun

1. the act of procuring, or obtaining or getting by effort, care, or the use of special means.

   The organ procurement procedure is very complicated.

2. the act of obtaining equipment, materials, or supplies.

   The secretary of defense argued in favor of increasing the budget for procurement.

Other Word Forms

• nonprocurement noun
• self-procurement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of procurement¹

First recorded in 1300–50; procure ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Example Sentences

Defense ministries won’t easily surrender control over plans and procurement, nor will Europe’s big industrial players easily pivot from competition to collaboration.

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Driscoll has earned praise from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill for his aggressive push to modernize the Army and overhaul the service’s unwieldy procurement program, lawmakers and Senate aides said.

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Some of the biggest obstacles facing Germany’s military planners are intangible: ponderous procurement rules, onerous data protection laws, and other regulations forged in a more peaceful era.

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The Ministry of Defence often rejects allegations of being involved in a long list of procurement errors.

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While the company maintains its 2026 revenue growth outlook, the analysts expect China’s volume-based procurement policy for drugs to weigh on growth.

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Related Words

• acquisition 

When To Use

What does procurement mean?

Procurement most commonly refers to the formal, official process of purchasing and obtaining materials, supplies, or equipment, especially in the context of business or government.Many large companies and government agencies have a procurement department that handles the ordering and acquisition of supplies. Such a department is often simply referred to as procurement, as in You’ll have to ask procurement to order those materials. Procurement is the noun form of the verb procure. In general, procurement means the act of getting something, especially through special means or extra effort, as in The procurement of transplant organs is a complex process.Example: If someone says they work in procurement, it means they spend a lot of time navigating the supply chain to get what their company needs.