tr.v., -quired, -quir·ing, -quires.
- To gain possession of: acquire 100 shares of stock.
- To get by one's own efforts: acquire proficiency in math.
- To gain through experience; come by: acquired a growing dislike of television sitcoms.
- To locate (a moving object) with a tracking system, such as radar.
[Middle English acquere, from Old French aquerre, from Latin acquīrere, to add to : ad-, ad- + quaerere, to seek, get.]
acquirable ac·quir'a·ble adj.acquirer ac·quir'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
