acquire

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled aquire

US /əˈkwaɪɚ/ UK /əˈkwaɪə/ See IPA manual

Freq #10343

Meanings

1

verb
to get or come to own something

The museum acquired several rare paintings last year.
2

verb
to gain a skill or knowledge through effort or experience

She acquired a good knowledge of French while living in Paris.
3

verb
to gradually develop a habit, quality, or feeling

Over the years he acquired a taste for strong coffee.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to get or come to own... get obtain gain procure secure

2 verb · to gain a skill or... gain develop

3 verb · to gradually develop a... develop

More achieve collect find gather score

Opposites

abandon discard dispose lose

Word family

Forms acquiredacquiresacquiring

Derived forms acquihireacquirabilityacquirableacquireeacquireracquirypre-acquiredpreacquirereacquireunacquire

Related forms acquirement acquisition acquisitiveacquisitoryobtain reach

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

acquire language
to develop the ability to understand and use a language

Verb + noun

Simplified etymology

Acquire entered late Middle English from Latin acquirere, “get in addition,” formed from ad-, “to,” and quaerere, “seek.” It was formerly spelled acquere; around 1600 its spelling was altered to resemble the Latin original more closely.

Etymology

From Middle English acqueren, from Old French aquerre, from Latin acquirō; ad- + quaerō (“to seek for”). See quest.

acqueren Middle English aquerre Old French acquirō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Register & Style

External links

# acquire

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /əˈkwaɪɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈkwaɪə/
**Frequency rank:** 10343

## Meanings
1. to get or come to own something
2. to gain a skill or knowledge through effort or experience
3. to gradually develop a habit, quality, or feeling

## Examples
- The museum acquired several rare paintings last year.
- She acquired a good knowledge of French while living in Paris.
- Over the years he acquired a taste for strong coffee.

## Synonyms
- achieve
- collect
- find
- gather
- get
- score

## Antonyms
- abandon
- discard
- dispose
- lose

## Derived Forms
- acquihire
- acquirability
- acquirable
- acquiree
- acquirer
- acquiry
- pre-acquired
- preacquire
- reacquire
- unacquire

## Related Forms
- acquirement
- acquisition
- acquisitive
- acquisitory
- obtain
- reach

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: acqueren
- Root: aquerre
- Root: acquirō

## Etymology
From Middle English acqueren, from Old French aquerre, from Latin acquirō; ad- + quaerō (“to seek for”). See quest.

## AI Etymology
Acquire is from Middle English acqueren, from Old French aquerre, from Latin acquirō; ad- plus quaerō (“to seek for”). See quest. The formation is semantically transparent: the parts remain visible, while the compound or affix fixes the grammatical role and narrows the modern meaning. In use as a verb, acquire denotes to get or come to own something, to gain a skill or knowledge through effort or experience, and to gradually develop a habit, quality, or feeling. The same word family continues in derived forms such as acquihire, acquirability, acquirable, and acquiree and related entries such as acquirement, acquisition, acquisitive, and acquisitory.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Register & Style

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