procurement

American  

[proh-kyoor-muhnt, pruh‑] / proʊˈkjʊər mənt, prə‑ /

noun

• procurements
  plural

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.

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procurement British  

/ prəˈkjʊəmənt /

noun

1. the act or an instance of procuring

2. commerce

   1. the act of buying

   2. ( as modifier )

      procurement cost

      procurement budget

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonprocurement
  noun
• self-procurement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• procurements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of procurement

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

Explanation

Procurement is the act of getting something you need. Save it for when you need to sound serious, like if you're in the military. Procurement is the noun form of the verb procure which means "to acquire," but procurement often has military connotations, such as: "The procurement of the weapons for the war is vital." It also means acquiring something that was extra hard to get, and you can use it when you want to sound formal: "I will work on the procurement of some more lemonade for all of us." Sound extra fancy by quoting the British poet John Dryden from way back in 1717: "They think it done/ By her procurement."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

procurement procurements

The distinction is key: By separating spending on procurement and production, Taiwan can ensure that its market survives lulls within its overall budget process that could otherwise ruin private investment timelines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

It could take months before the deal yields new barrels, and the administration hasn’t explained exactly how the procurement would work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

His proposals will not necessarily affect the operation of the national health boards that run the Scottish ambulance service or those that provide procurement and other support to the NHS.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

A second sanction imposed by the Pentagon on the same day, based on public procurement regulations, remains in effect pending a court ruling in Washington, where a judge refused to suspend the measure in April.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

This led to the first major procurement crisis of Groves’s tenure.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

The committee has to sign off on any substantial defence procurements.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

The DPP budget includes up to about $30 billion of weapons procurements from the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

"These deals will further integrate the Saudi and US economies together, joint ventures in the kingdom, in the United States, procurements of American weapons and goods," says Mr Shihabi.

From BBC ● May 11, 2025

He predicted that a situation like last September — when the grid hit record-high demand, at about 52,000 megawatts — could likely be managed with the state’s contingency resources and additional market procurements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2023

There were thousands of her citizens, full of health and talent, who adorned excesses of living by the tasteful procurements of wealth, and the highest accomplishments of mind.

From International Weekly Miscellany - Volume 1, No. 9, August 26, 1850 by Various

Related Words

• acquisition