ACQUIRE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does acquire mean? 

• ACQUIRE (verb)
  The verb ACQUIRE has 7 senses:

1. come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

2. take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect

3. come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)

4. locate (a moving entity) by means of a tracking system such as radar

5. win something through one's efforts

6. gain knowledge or skills

7. gain through experience

  Familiarity information: ACQUIRE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ACQUIRE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they acquire    ... he / she / it acquires   
Past simple: acquired   
Past participle: acquired   
-ing form: acquiring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

acquire; get

Context example:

Get permission to take a few days off from work

Verb group:

find; get; incur; obtain; receive (receive a specified treatment (abstract))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "acquire"):

buy (acquire by trade or sacrifice or exchange)

reclaim; repossess (claim back)

find; regain (come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost)

acquire; gain; win (win something through one's efforts)

bring in; clear; earn; gain; make; pull in; realise; realize; take in (earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages)

earn; garner; win (acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions)

benefit; gain; profit (derive a benefit from)

recoup; recover; recuperate (regain or make up for)

partake; partake in; share (have, give, or receive a share of)

preempt (acquire for oneself before others can do so)

preempt (gain possession of by prior right or opportunity, especially so as to obtain the right to buy (land))

call for; collect; gather up; pick up (gather or collect)

inherit (obtain from someone after their death)

borrow (get temporarily)

pick up (get in addition, as an increase)

get (acquire as a result of some effort or action)

poll (get the votes of)

find; recover; regain; retrieve (get or find back; recover the use of)

isolate (obtain in pure form)

get back; win back (recover something or somebody that appeared to be lost)

express; extract; press out (obtain from a substance, as by mechanical action)

capture; catch (capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping)

come by; come into (obtain, especially accidentally)

buy; purchase (obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction)

charter; engage; hire; lease; rent; take (engage for service under a term of contract)

have; receive (get something; come into possession of)

turn (get by buying and selling)

find (obtain through effort or management)

glom (seize upon or latch onto something)

come upon; enter upon; luck into (take possession of)

come up; find; get hold; line up (get something or somebody for a specific purpose)

accept; have; take (receive willingly something given or offered)

obtain (come into possession of)

catch (get or regain something necessary, usually quickly or briefly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sentence example:

The children acquire the ball

Derivation:

acquirable (capable of being acquired)

acquirer (a credit card processing bank; merchants receive credit for credit card receipts less a processing fee)

acquirer (the financial institution that dispenses cash in automated teller machines and collects a fee from the bank that issued the credit card)

acquirer (a corporation gaining financial control over another corporation or financial institution through a payment in cash or an exchange of stock)

acquirer (a person who acquires something (usually permanently))

acquiring (the act of acquiring something)

acquisition (the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something)

acquisition (the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge)

acquisitive (eager to acquire and possess things especially material possessions or ideas)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

acquire; adopt; assume; take; take on

Context example:

The gods assume human or animal form in these fables

Hypernyms (to "acquire" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "acquire"):

re-assume (take on again, as after a time lapse)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

acquire; develop; get; grow; produce

Context example:

Well-developed breasts

Hypernyms (to "acquire" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Verb group:

acquire; develop; evolve (gain through experience)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "acquire"):

regrow (grow anew or continue growth after an injury or interruption)

feather; fledge (grow feathers)

cut (have grow through the gums)

get up; work up (develop)

pupate (develop into a pupa)

teethe (grow teeth; cut the baby teeth)

leaf (produce leaves, of plants)

stool; tiller (grow shoots in the form of stools or tillers)

sprout; stock (put forth and grow sprouts or shoots)

spring (develop suddenly)

pod (produce pods, of plants)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Locate (a moving entity) by means of a tracking system such as radar

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "acquire" is one way to...):

locate; situate (determine or indicate the place, site, or limits of, as if by an instrument or by a survey)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Win something through one's efforts

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

acquire; gain; win

Context example:

win someone's confidence and friendship

Hypernyms (to "acquire" is one way to...):

acquire; get (come into the possession of something concrete or abstract)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "acquire"):

cozen (cheat or trick)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sense 6

Meaning:

Gain knowledge or skills

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

acquire; larn; learn

Context example:

Children acquire language at an amazing rate

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "acquire"):

hit the books; study (learn by reading books)

absorb; assimilate; ingest; take in (take up mentally)

catch up (learn belatedly; find out about something after it happened)

relearn (learn something again, as after having forgotten or neglected it)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Derivation:

acquisition (an ability that has been acquired by training)

acquisition (the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Gain through experience

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

acquire; develop; evolve

Context example:

develop a passion for painting

Hypernyms (to "acquire" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Verb group:

acquire; develop; get; grow; produce (come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes))

develop (elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme)

develop; explicate; formulate (elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses)

develop (generate gradually)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

People with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are at an increased risk for developing certain cancers and for infections that usually occur only in individuals with a weak immune system.

(Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, NCI Dictionary)

A syndrome resulting from the acquired deficiency of cellular immunity caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

(Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

The process by which something is acquired or obtained.

(Acquisition, NCI Thesaurus)

Image acquired during a specified event.

(Acquired Image, NCI Thesaurus/DICOM)

The protrusion of abdominal contents through a congenital or acquired defect in the abdominal wall.

(Abdominal Hernia, NCI Thesaurus)

The microbiota acquired by a newborn are thought to be essential for the development of a healthy immune system and metabolism.

(Restoring microbes in infants born by cesarean section, NIH)

In the later phase, RNAs change what they make and acquire the ability to migrate.

(Cells Back from Brink of Death, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

For the first time, scientists began seeing clearly a chapter in the story of how the inner planets, including Earth, acquired water and some of the chemical building blocks for life.

(NASA Spacecraft Achieves Unprecedented Success Studying Mercury, NASA)

A congenital or acquired hyperplasia of the cells of the adrenal cortex or medulla.

(Adrenal Gland Hyperplasia, NCI Thesaurus)

Study of the occurrence, distribution, and containment of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

(AIDS Epidemiology, NCI Thesaurus)