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:
However, scientists have developed systems that can perform tasks which usually require human intelligence, trying to replicate how people acquire and use knowledge.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
ProPublica is working to acquire similar data from states without abortion bans.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management APO 0.84%increase; up pointing triangle is in talks to acquire Johnson & Johnson’s hips-and-knees parts business for around $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
If the notice is not dealt with, the council could seek government approval to acquire the mansion, subject to further legal action.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
She’d had to visit three different outfitters to acquire them.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
"The charge a droplet acquires as it slides depends heavily on the specific surface -- we measured differences of up to a factor of ten," explains Zhongyuan Ni, the study's first author.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
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
It’s the kind of wisdom that someone acquires after a lifetime of learning and watching and doing.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
With investment from DJ Charlie Sloth it enjoyed rapid growth before being formally acquired by one of the world's largest spirits companies.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Since his 2008 retirement from the FBI, he has acted as a “high-value asset security consultant” to museums, auction houses, trade shows, collectors and the like to protect and, when necessary, recover illicitly acquired objects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Francisco Partners and KKR & Co. are said to be acquiring minority stakes in Italian business software supplier TeamSystem from Hellman & Friedman, which acquired the company in 2016.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The Dodgers acquired Bubic from the Royals at the trade deadline this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Francesco became Duke of Milan from his station as a private citizen through appropriate methods and a great deal of virtue; and what he acquired with a thousand hardships he maintained with little effort.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
For one thing, acquiring the myriad permits needed from federal, state and local governments would be a major undertaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
In the mid-2010s, he began his international expansion by acquiring a stake in the Spanish sunglasses company Hawkers, becoming its majority shareholder and president in 2016.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Yellow Wood Partners said the brands it’s acquiring lead in high-growth categories like hydration, gut health and immunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
California has spent billions acquiring advanced firefighting technology and recruiting professional firefighters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
It seemed that nothing could keep Joseph McCarthy from acquiring more power and destroying more lives.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
