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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
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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 of acquire from the Web
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Then, later this year, Liberty will spinoff into a separate company QVC Group, which will include HSNi and online retailer zulily, which Liberty acquired two years ago.
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This time the explanations came from fellow-liberals who admired the American exception, which is how the phrase acquired its secondary and more positive meaning.
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The T-Bolts acquired Kuzminsky for fellow reliever Ryan Leach in a Jan. 19 trade with Trois-Rivieres.
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Some 5,419 glass plate negatives from the Mathew Brady Studio were acquired by the Smithsonian as a group from the Frederick Hill Meserve Collection through the estate of Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt.
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The company filed for bankruptcy a year later, and was eventually acquired for a mere $20 million.
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The county acquired the property in March from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service Asset Forfeiture Division.
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More: U of L Foundation says more analysis needed after first meeting since blistering audit As for the golf course, it was acquired by a foundation subsidiary on behalf of athletics in 2013.
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Toronto originally acquired the 23rd pick along with the draft rights to Norman Powell from Milwaukee in 2015 for Greivis Vasquez.
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
ACQUIRE Defined for English Language Learners
acquire
playDefinition of acquire for English Language Learners
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: to get (something) : to come to own (something) : to come to have (something)
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: to gain (a new skill, ability, etc.) usually by your own effort
ACQUIRE Defined for Kids
Medical Dictionary
acquire
playMedical 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
playLegal 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
alsoacquiror
\ə-ˈkwīr-ər\ nounLearn More about acquire
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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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