acquire

verb

ac·​quire ə-ˈkwī(-ə)r 

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

Synonyms

• develop
• cultivate

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

Pure greed and the desire to acquire more wealth or experiences of financial hardship are reasons why a person might commit fraud, Smith said. —John Towfighi, CNN Money, 13 July 2025

While Google has not yet launched such a service, on July 11 the search giant acquired executive talent and intellectual property from Windsurf — a leader in agentic AI, noted CNBC. —Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025

Although Kerry Stokes would like to find a permanent home in the U.K. for the fifteen hundred glass plates of British soldiers, no museum has offered to acquire them. —Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 13 July 2025

When the first-round pick acquired from the Warriors in that trade last month turned into Kasparas Jakucionis, in his fall from lottery prospect to No. 20 Heat selection, the perception was upgraded to … hmm. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 12 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing acquire

• acquire a reputation

Rhymes for acquire

• briar
• brier
• buyer
• choir
• crier
• cryer
• drier
• dryer
• eyer
• flier
• flyer
• friar

Kids Definition

acquire

verb

ac·​quire ə-ˈkwī(ə)r 

acquired; acquiring

: to come to have often by one's own efforts : gain

acquirable

-ˈkwī-rə-bəl

adjective

Medical Definition

acquire

transitive verb

ac·​quire ə-ˈkwī(ə)r 

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

Legal Definition

acquire

transitive verb

ac·​quire ə-ˈkwīr 

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 noun

also acquiror

ə-ˈkwīr-ər