acquire

[uh-kwahyuh r] /əˈkwaɪər/

verb (used with object), acquired, acquiring.

to come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own:

to acquire property.

to gain for oneself through one's actions or efforts:

to acquire learning.

Linguistics. to achieve native or nativelike command of (a language or a linguistic rule or element).

Military. to locate and track (a moving target) with a detector, as radar.

Origin

1400-50; < Latin acquīrere to add to one's possessions, acquire (ac- ac- + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere to search for, obtain); replacing late Middle English aquere < Middle French aquerre < Latin

Related forms

acquirable, adjective

acquirability, noun

acquirer, noun

preacquire, verb, preacquired, preacquiring.

reacquire, verb (used with object), reacquired, reacquiring.

self-acquired, adjective

unacquirable, adjective

unacquired, adjective

well-acquired, adjective

Synonyms

1. See get. 2. win, earn, attain; appropriate.

Examples from the web for acquired

To assess the skills students acquired elsewhere seemed an imprecise task.
Neanderthal man, however, passed on his painfully acquired knowledge of how to chip a flint so as to get a sharp edge.
Maybe we should be having studies of humans and their very distorted view of wildlife acquired from television.
He acquired some distinction as an advocate.
This is also the permanent home of her many paintings and sculptures, all acquired in the past three decades.
The amount realized on the sale was far in excess of the salvage value that had been assigned to the asset when it was acquired.
Buzz began last year when Doubleday acquired the book for $1.25 million.
Input is the energy acquired from foods, output is the energy expended through physical activity.
He acquired that stock upon reorganization, in exchange for the collapsible values of the predecessor corporation.
His love for golf was an acquired taste.

British Dictionary definitions for acquired

acquire

/əˈkwaɪə/

verb

(transitive) to get or gain (something, such as an object, trait, or ability), esp more or less permanently

Derived Forms

acquirable, adjective
acquirement, noun
acquirer, noun

Word Origin

C15: via Old French from Latin acquīrere, from ad- in addition + quaerere to get, seek

Word Origin and History for acquired

adj.

c.1600, "gained by effort," past participle adjective from acquire. Of diseases, "occurring after birth, thus not dependent on heredity," 1842 (opposed to congenital). Acquired taste is attested from 1734.

acquire

mid-15c., acqueren, from Old French aquerre "acquire, gain, earn, procure," from Vulgar Latin *acquaerere, from Latin acquirere "to seek in addition to" (see acquisition). Reborrowed in current form from Latin c.1600. Related: Acquired; acquiring.

acquired in Medicine

acquired ac·quired (ə-kwīrd')
adj.

Of or relating to a disease, condition, or characteristic that is not congenital but develops after birth.
Developed in response to an antigen, as resistance to a disease by vaccination or previous infection.