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Definition of "acquire" []

  • To gain possession of: acquire 100 shares of stock. (verb-transitive)
  • To get by one's own efforts: acquire proficiency in math. (verb-transitive)
  • To gain through experience; come by: acquired a growing dislike of television sitcoms. (verb-transitive)
  • To locate (a moving object) with a tracking system, such as radar. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "acquire" in a sentence
  • "Only later, when fear had been replaced by boredom, did the term acquire a derogatory shading."
  • "Not until the time of Linnæus (1707-1778) did the term acquire a definite and precise meaning."
  • "The historical events which mothers take part in acquire the greatness and invincibility of natural phenomena."