acquire
verbattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//əˈkwaɪə//
- United States//əˈkwaɪɚ//
To get.
verb
- 1
To get.
- 2
To gain, usually by one's own exertions; to get as one's own.
to acquire a skill
to acquire decent habits and manners
He acquired a title.
All the riches he acquired were from hard work.
- 3
To become affected by an illness.
- 4
To sample signals and convert them into digital values.
- 5
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.
Etymology
From Middle English acqueren, from Old French aquerre, from Latin acquirō; ad- + quaerō (“to seek for”). See quest.
Forms
- past tense
- acquired
- past participle
- acquired
- present participle
- acquiring
- third person singular
- acquires