Definition of procure
procured
;procuring
transitive verb
1a : to get possession of : obtain by particular care and effortb : to get and make available for promiscuous sexual intercourse
2 : bring about, achieve procured the prisoner's release
intransitive verb
: to procure women
From the M-W Editors
Examples of procure in a Sentence
It was at that encounter in Pakistan that Faris was put in charge of procuring acetylene torches to slice suspension cables, as well as torque tools to bend portions of train track. —Daniel Eisenberg, Time, 30 June 2003
He was stationed down in South Carolina about a year when he became engaged to an Irish Catholic girl whose father, a marine major and a one-time Purdue football coach, had procured him the cushy job as drill instructor in order to keep him at Parris Island to play ball. —Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
Unlike an agent, whose chief task is to procure acting roles and handle the legal negotiations of an actor's contract, a personal manager's influence is more pervasive … —Nikki Grimes, Essence, March 1995
She managed to procure a ticket to the concert.
The CIA believes the group is procuring weapons.
They still need to procure a marriage license.
He was charged with illegally procuring young women for wealthy clients.
Recent Examples of procure from the Web
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That Trump knew nothing of his son’s eager attempts to procure dirt on Clinton seems even more unlikely in light of a Yahoo News report Thursday, which claims Trump’s lawyers knew about the meeting, and e-mails, in June.
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That Trump knew nothing of his son’s eager attempts to procure dirt on Clinton seems even more unlikely in light of a Yahoo News report Thursday, which claims Trump’s lawyers knew about the meeting, and e-mails, in June.
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Rice said the team stays in communication with Tunney's office, the city and neighbors about upcoming shows, and a small number of concert tickets are set aside for the ballpark's neighbors to procure.
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Humans bleed 500,000 of the creatures a year to procure this medically valuable substance, before returning the crabs to the waters.
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The teen drama procured more than more than 1.7 million tweets globally since the finale aired, with the number continuing to grow with every passing hour.
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But if an offer sheet isn’t procured by Caldwell-Pope and his camp, the process could drag on throughout the off-season.
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For example, doctors who care for patients are entirely separate from transplant teams who procure the organs.
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Those increases mirror similar expansion by the UN, which saw the value of goods and services procured in Turkey alone jump from $90 million in 2012 to $339 million in 2014, reports IRIN.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'procure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Distinctive Meanings of procure
Procure, like many other English words, has a split personality. On the one hand, it may carry a perfectly benign meaning, such as "to obtain" (“she procured supplies”) or "to bring about" (“the settlement was successfully procured”). On the other hand, it has long been used in the specific sense of obtaining someone for, or bringing about, sexually promiscuous purposes. In this regard it is similar to the word pander, which entered the English language with the innocent meaning “a go-between in love intrigues” (the word comes from the name Pandare, a character in Chaucer’s poem Troilus and Criseyde who facilitates the affair between the titular characters), and soon after took on the meaning “pimp.”
Origin and Etymology of procure
Middle English, from Anglo-French procurer, from Late Latin procurare, from Latin, to take care of, from pro- for + cura care
PROCURE Defined for English Language Learners
procure
playDefinition of procure for English Language Learners
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: to get (something) by some action or effort
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: to find or provide (a prostitute) for someone
PROCURE Defined for Kids
Law Dictionary
procure
playLegal Definition of procure
procured
procuring
: to obtain, induce, or cause to take place
procurable
adjectiveprocurer
nounLearn More about procure
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for procure Spanish Central: Translation of procure Nglish: Translation of procure for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of procure for Arabic speakers
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