acquire
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈkwaɪɚ/
ipa: /əˈkwaɪə/
rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Forms: form: acquires
form: acquiring
form: acquired
form: acquired
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: acquire
form: acquire
form: acquired
form: acquire
form: acquirest
form: acquired
form: acquiredst
form: acquires
form: acquireth
form: acquired
form: acquire
form: acquired
form: acquire
form: acquired
form: acquire
form: -
form: acquiring
form: acquired
Etymology: From Middle English acqueren, from Old French aquerre, from Latin acquirō; ad- + quaerō (“to seek for”). See quest.
Senses: glosses: To get.
examples: text: to acquire a skill
text: to acquire decent habits and manners
text: He acquired a title.
text: All the riches he acquired were from hard work.
text: One should acquire as much knowledge as possible from reading.
text: No virtue is acquired in an instant, but by degrees, step by step.
ref: a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number). The Consideration of our Latter End”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831, →OCLC:
text: Descent is the title whereby a man, on the death of his ancestor, acquires his estate, by right of representation, as his heir at law.
ref: 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
text: Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house ; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something ; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.
ref: 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/19/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
text: In the process of basification, the top layer of the crust becomes basic, while the lower becomes ultrabasic acquiring the density of the mantle or an even greater density
ref: 1980, A. W. Bally, Dynamics of Plate Interiors, →ISBN, page 49:
text: If you're black you've had to improvise communication with unilingual whites, she'd probably easily acquire this ancient one, too.
ref: 2012, Nadine Gordimer, No Time Like the Present, Bloomsbury, published 2013, page 46:
glosses: To gain, usually by one's own exertions; to get as one's own.
topics: medicine
sciences
synonyms: contract
catch
get
glosses: To become affected by an illness.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: To sample signals and convert them into digital values.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: To begin tracking a mobile target with a particular detector or sight, generally with the implication that an attack on the target thereby becomes possible.
Synonyms: sense: get, gain
word: attain
sense: get, gain
word: come by
sense: get, gain
word: earn
sense: get, gain
word: gain
sense: get, gain
word: obtain
sense: get, gain
word: procure
sense: get, gain
word: secure
sense: get, gain
word: win
word: achieve
word: acquire
word: collect
word: gather
word: get
word: score
Hypernyms: word: have
Hyponyms: word: annex
word: bank
word: buy
word: capture
word: corral
word: seize
word: take
Derived terms: acquihire
acquirability
acquirable
acquired taste
acquiree
acquirer
acquiry
after-acquired title
preacquire
pre-acquired
reacquire
unacquire
Related terms: acquisition
acquirement
acquisitive
acquisitory
obtain
reach