acquire

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verb ac·quire \ ə-ˈkwī(-ə)r \

Definition of acquire

acquired; acquiring

transitive verb

1 :to get as one's own:

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

acquire property

The team acquired three new players this year.

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

See acquire defined for English-language learners

See acquire defined for kids

Examples of acquire in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of acquire from the Web

Acquiring a top-shelf new beauty buy can feel like a big decision.

— The Cut, "The 3 Beauty Items You Need Now, Tailored to You," 25 Aug. 2017
That’s when Comcast, which acquired control of NBCUniversal the year before, established the NBC Sports Group for the company’s sports operations and renamed its Versus sports channel NBCSN.

— phil rosenthal, chicagotribune.com, "Comcast SportsNet Chicago gets a new name: NBC Sports Chicago," 23 Aug. 2017
According to state property tax records, 331 Bel Air LLC acquired the property for $2,488,000 in November 2015.

— allan vought, The Aegis, "Bel Air to sell property along Baltimore Pike," 23 Aug. 2017
The stock has almost doubled since April 2016 amid speculation that the company may be acquired.

— eyk henning, Bloomberg.com, "Bain, Cinven Clear First Stada Obstacle as Holdouts Await," 18 Aug. 2017
In 1979, Trump acquired a building at 56th Street and Fifth Avenue that previously housed the women's retailer Bonwit Teller.

— sam dangremond, Town & Country, "The Historic Building Donald Trump Demolished to Build Trump Tower," 18 Aug. 2017
The requirement, will to acquire the planes, and the dollars are all there.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "One of These Planes Will Be the Air Force's New Light Attack Aircraft," 14 Aug. 2017
For all the arms the Reds have acquired over the last half-decade, there are just as many questions as there were after the breakup of the rotation that led Cincinnati to three playoff appearances in four seasons from 2010 to 2013.

— c. trent rosecrans, Cincinnati.com, "Another game, another Reds rookie takes a loss," 13 Aug. 2017
The firm would secretly acquire blocks of penny stocks; then, its brokers would hype them to suckers over the phone.

— andrew rice, Daily Intelligencer, "The Original Russia Connection," 3 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acquire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of acquire

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

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First Known Use: 15th century

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acquire Synonyms

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

ACQUIRE Defined for English Language Learners

acquire

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verb

Definition of acquire for English Language Learners

: to get (something) : to come to own (something) : to come to have (something)
: to gain (a new skill, ability, etc.) usually by your own effort

ACQUIRE Defined for Kids

acquire

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verb ac·quire \ ə-ˈkwīr \

Definition of acquire for Students

acquired; acquiring

:to get especially through effort :gain

acquire a skill

Medical Dictionary

acquire

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transitive verb ac·quire \ ə-ˈkwī(ə)r \

medical Definition of acquire

acquired; acquiring

: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

Law Dictionary

acquire

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transitive verb ac·quire \ ə-ˈkwīr \

legal Definition of acquire

acquired; acquiring

:to come into possession, ownership, or control of :obtain as one's own

the target's directors don't want the company to be acquired
—R. C. Clark

the court acquired jurisdiction

—

acquirer

also acquiror \ə-ˈkwīr-ər\ noun

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See words that rhyme with acquire Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for acquire Spanish Central: Translation of acquire Nglish: Translation of acquire for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of acquire for Arabic speakers

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ACQUIRE Defined for English Language Learners

acquire

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acquire

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Law Dictionary

acquire

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acquirer

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