acquire
verb
ac·quire
| \ ə-ˈkwī(-ə)r
\
\
acquired;
acquiring
Definition of acquire
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.
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Recent Examples on the Web
The Florida Panthers are continuing to attempt to solidify their defense as the team has acquired defenseman Gustav Bouramman from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for future considerations. — Brett Shweky, sun-sentinel.com, "Florida Panthers trade for defenseman Gustav Bouramman from Minnesota Wild," 24 Aug. 2019 The Giants should be motivated to evaluate outfield prospect Jaylin Davis, a slugging right-handed hitter acquired in the trade that sent Sam Dyson to the Twins. — Kerry Crowley, The Mercury News, "Will the Giants’ definition of ‘meaningful baseball’ change in September?," 23 Aug. 2019 The team that acquires the breakout player believed in them the most or at least was willing to spend the most money on that player. — Brad Kruse, SI.com, "Fantasy Football 2019: Auction Draft Primer and Strategies," 23 Aug. 2019 Vista Equity Partners, which acquired the firm for $600 million in 2016, backs it. — Polina Marinova, Fortune, "WeWork’s Smaller Rivals Are ‘Not Scared of a Recession:’ Term Sheet," 23 Aug. 2019 Techies often boast that they are less fussed about owning and acquiring things, which make tight quarters more bearable. — The Economist, "How robotic furniture will improve our lives," 23 Aug. 2019 After Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, a stand-alone movie about the popular bounty hunter character Boba Fett was put into development but was eventually shelved. — James Hibberd, EW.com, "The Mandalorian trailer revealed: See first footage of Star Wars series," 23 Aug. 2019 The Journal Gazette reported that Nestle acquired a majority stake in Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream in 2002. — USA TODAY, "Rocket’s last blast, Alaska drought, million-dollar ham: News from around our 50 states," 23 Aug. 2019 Amazon also has an option to increase or even acquire the entire stake in Future Coupons. — Sangeeta Tanwar, Quartz India, "Amazon has signed a deal that could give it a huge edge over Walmart in India," 23 Aug. 2019These 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.
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More Definitions for acquire
acquire
verb
English Language Learners Definition of acquire
formal
: to get (something) : to come to own (something) : to come to have (something)
: to gain (a new skill, ability, etc.) usually by your own effort
See the full definition for acquire in the English Language Learners Dictionary
acquire
verb
ac·quire
| \ ə-ˈkwīr
\
\
acquired;
acquiring
Kids Definition of acquire
: to get especially through effort : gain
acquire a skill
acquire
transitive verb
ac·quire
| \ ə-ˈkwī(ə)r
\
\
acquired;
acquiring
Medical Definition of acquire
: 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
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acquire
transitive verb
ac·quire
| \ ə-ˈkwīr
\
\
acquired;
acquiring
Legal Definition of acquire
: 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