acquire

verb

ac·quire | \ə-ˈkwī(-ə)r

acquired; acquiring

Definition of acquire

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

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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 on the Web

The Titans acquired Murray in a March 2016 trade with the Eagles. — BostonGlobe.com, "Knee surgery scheduled for Lonzo Ball," 14 July 2018 The Brewers once acquired C.C. Sabathia for the stretch run. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Paul Daugherty: Imagine if the Reds were buyers instead of sellers at MLB trade deadline," 13 July 2018 The Atlanta Hawks acquired guard Jeremy Lin from the Brooklyn Nets for a 2020 second-round draft pick and the rights to 2016 second-round draft pick Isaia Cordinier, a person with direct knowledge of the trade told USA TODAY Sports. — Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, "Atlanta Hawks land Jeremy Lin from Brooklyn Nets," 13 July 2018 The Hawks then acquired the rights to high-scoring former Oklahoma star Trae Young in the draft. — Brian Mahoney, Houston Chronicle, "Source: Nets trade ex-Rocket Jeremy Lin to Hawks," 13 July 2018 The business, at 1909 N. Clifton Ave., is along the eastern edge of the river, near several other land parcels Sterling Bay has already acquired — most notably, the former A. Finkl & Sons steel plant. — Ryan Ori, chicagotribune.com, "General Iron to sell North Side land site, move out in 2020," 13 July 2018 The Russian agents had several methods for acquiring Bitcoin, according to the indictment. — Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, "12 Russian Agents Indicted in Mueller Investigation," 13 July 2018 The media company in March acquired a majority stake in Pinewood Toronto. — Erik Heinrich, latimes.com, "Toronto has been a film and TV hub for decades. Now Guillermo del Toro may give the Canadian city an edge," 12 July 2018 After two seasons at North Carolina, Orlando City acquired Lindley’s Homegrown rights from the Chicago Fire and $100,000 in Targeted Allocation Money in exchange for veteran defender Rafael Ramos. — Jordan Culver, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando City midfielder Cam Lindley called up for 2018 MLS Homegrown Game," 12 July 2018

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.

History and Etymology for acquire

borrowed from Latin acquīrere, from ad- ad- + quaerere "to seek, gain, obtain, enquire"; replacing earlier aquere, going back to Middle English aqweren, borrowed from Anglo-French acquerre, going back to Vulgar Latin *acquaerere, restructuring (by restoring the vocalism of quaerere) of acquīrere — more at quest entry 1

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Dictionary Entries near acquire

acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Phrases Related to acquire

acquire a reputation

Statistics for acquire

Last Updated

8 Oct 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for acquire

The first known use of acquire was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for acquire

acquire

verb

English Language Learners Definition of acquire

: 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

See the full definition for acquire in the English Language Learners Dictionary

acquire

verb

ac·quire | \ə-ˈkwīr

acquired; acquiring

Kids Definition of acquire

: to get especially through effort : gain acquire a skill

acquire

transitive verb

ac·quire | \ə-ˈkwī(ə)r

acquired; acquiring

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

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acquire

transitive verb

ac·quire | \ə-ˈkwīr

acquired; acquiring

Legal Definition of acquire

: 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