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procure

[proh-kyoor, pruh-]
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verb (used with object), pro·cured, pro·cur·ing.
  1. to obtain or get by care, effort, or the use of special means: to procure evidence.
  2. to bring about, especially by unscrupulous and indirect means: to procure secret documents.
  3. to obtain (a person) for the purpose of prostitution.
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verb (used without object), pro·cured, pro·cur·ing.
  1. to act as a procurer or pimp.
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Origin of procure

1250–1300; Middle English procuren < Latin prōcūrāre to take care of. See pro-1, cure
Related formspro·cure·ment, nounself-pro·cured, adjectiveself-pro·cur·ing, adjectiveun·pro·cured, adjective
Can be confusedprocuration procurement

Synonyms

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1. gain, win. See get. 2. contrive. 4. pander, pimp.

Antonyms

1. lose.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

gainingacquiringacquisitionadditionprocurement

Examples from the Web for procuring

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He fell to them with only a perfunctory acknowledgment of my agency in procuring them.

    Ruggles of Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • After breakfast he paid his bill, and, procuring his horse, prepared for departure.

    The Night Riders

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • Any little comforts you have had here have been of his procuring.

    Gerald Fitzgerald

    Charles James Lever

  • As for me, all my funds had been absorbed in procuring my outfit at Eddyville, in Iowa.

  • He determined to find some way of procuring the title for himself.

    The False Chevalier

    William Douw Lighthall

British Dictionary definitions for procuring

procure

verb
  1. (tr) to obtain or acquire; secure
  2. to obtain (women or girls) to act as prostitutes
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Derived Formsprocurable, adjectiveprocurance or procural, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Latin prōcūrāre to look after, from pro- 1 + cūrāre to care for
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

Word Origin and History for procuring

procure

v.

c.1300, "bring about, cause, effect," from Old French procurer "care for, be occupied with; bring about, cause; acquire, provide" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin procurare "manage, take care of;" from pro- "in behalf of" (see pro-) + curare "care for" (see cure (v.)). Main modern sense "obtain; recruit" (late 14c.) is via "take pains to get" (mid-14c.). Meaning "to obtain (women) for sexual gratification" is attested from c.1600. Related: Procured; procuring.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper