Term: acquire





acquire (verb):

  • General: to get or obtain something, especially something that requires effort or money.
  • Business: to buy or take control of a company or an asset.
  • Skills/Knowledge: to learn or develop a specific ability or habit over time.

synonyms: obtain, gain, attain, procure, purchase. 

pronunciation: /əˈkwaɪər/ 

translation: iegūt, apgūt, nopirkt (uzņēmumu) 

example: The company plans to acquire its smaller rival to expand its market share in Europe. 

other words from this root: acquisition (noun), acquisitive (adjective).


Contextual Usage

  • Skills and Language: Used when a person learns something naturally or through practice.”It takes several years to acquire a high level of fluency in a foreign language.”
  • Business and Finance: Refers to “Mergers and Acquisitions” (M&A). It is the formal word for one company buying another.
  • Physical Objects: Often used for large or expensive items, such as land, art, or equipment.”The museum was able to acquire a rare painting by Rembrandt for its permanent collection.”
  • Medical/Scientific: Used when someone “catches” a disease or develops a trait.”Some bacteria acquire resistance to antibiotics over many generations.”
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
acquire (verb)
transitive verb
1.
to get as one's own
a) to come into possession or control of often by unspecified means
b) to come to have as a new or added characteristic, trait, or ability (as by sustained effort or natural selection) - acquire fluency in French bacteria that acquire tolerance to antibiotics
2.
to locate and hold (a desired object) in a detector - acquire a target by radar
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
acquire (verb)
1.
to come to have gradually
SYNONYMS:
acquire, cultivate, form
RELATED WORDS:
absorb, adopt, embrace, take in, take on; gain, get, obtain; achieve, attain, reach; foster, nourish, nurture, promote
NEAR ANTONYMS:
abandon, desert, forsake; cast, discard, ditch, dump, fling (off away), jettison, junk, reject, scrap, shed, shuck (off), slough ( sluff), throw away, throw out, unload
lose
acquire (verb)
2.
to receive as return for effort
SYNONYMS:
acquire, attain, bag, bring in, capture, carry, come by, draw, gain, garner, get, knock down, land, make, obtain, procure, pull down, realize, reap, secure, win
RELATED WORDS:
clear, gross, net; accomplish, achieve, notch (up), score; accumulate, amass, draw, rack up; catch, pick up; annex, occupy, take over; reacquire, reattain, recapture, regain, remake
NEAR ANTONYMS:
accord, give, grant, pay; give up, hand over, part (with), relinquish, surrender, yield
forfeit, lose
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