acquire

ac·quire

transitive verb \ə-ˈkwī(-ə)r\

ac·quiredac·quir·ing

Definition of ACQUIRE

1

: to get as one's own:

a : to come into possession or control of often by unspecified means

b : to come to have as a new or added characteristic, trait, or ability (as by sustained effort or natural selection) <acquire fluency in French> <bacteria that acquire tolerance to antibiotics>

2

: to locate and hold (a desired object) in a detector <acquire a target by radar>

Examples of ACQUIRE

1. The two ships were acquired by the navy after the war.
2. The team acquired three new players this year.
3. The old word has acquired a new meaning.
4. This apparently minor event has acquired increasing significance in recent weeks.
5. He is studying the way that language is acquired by children.

Origin of ACQUIRE

Middle English aqueren, from Anglo-French acquerre, from Latin acquirere, from ad- + quaerere to seek, obtain

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to ACQUIRE

Synonyms

develop, cultivate, form

Antonyms

lose

Related Words

absorb, adopt, embrace, take in, take on; gain, get, obtain; achieve, attain, reach; foster, nourish, nurture, promote

Near Antonyms

abandon, desert, forsake; cast, discard, ditch, dump, fling (off or away), jettison, junk, reject, scrap, shed, shuck (off), slough (also sluff), throw away, throw out, unload

Rhymes with ACQUIRE

attire, backfire, bemire, catch fire, cross fire, denier, desire, entire, for hire, fox fire, Greek fire, grey friar, hang fire, hellfire, live wire, on fire, prior, rimfire, sapphire, sea fire, snow tire, town crier, trip wire, umpire, watch fire, white friar

ac·quire

transitive verb \ə-ˈkwī(ə)r\   (Medical Dictionary)

ac·quired; ac·quir·ing

Medical Definition of ACQUIRE

: to come to have as a new or additional characteristic, trait, or ability (as by sustained effort, by mutation, or through environmental forces) <a cognitive system…that is acquired in early childhood—Noam Chomsky> <bacteria that acquire tolerance to antibiotics> <insects that acquire resistance to insecticides>