Definition of “acknowledge” - English Dictionary

“acknowledge” in English

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acknowledgeverb [ T ]

uk /əkˈnɒl.ɪdʒ/ us /əkˈnɑː.lɪdʒ/

C1 to accept, admit, or recognize something, or the truth or existence of something:

[ + -ing verb ] She acknowledged having been at fault.

[ + that ] She acknowledged that she had been at fault.

You must acknowledge the truth of her argument.

Historians generally acknowledge her as a genius in her field.

[ + obj + to infinitive ] She is usually acknowledged to be one of our best artists.

They refused to acknowledge (= to recognize officially) the new government.

He didn't even acknowledge my presence (= show that he had seen me).

The government won't even acknowledge the existence of the problem.

C1 to tell someone, usually in a letter or email, that you have received something they sent you:

Please acknowledge receipt of this letter.

More examples

Always acknowledge your sources at the end of an essay.
The government has acknowledged that homelessness is a problem but it has failed to grasp the scale of the problem.
It is widely acknowledged that the welfare system is under-resourced.
She acknowledged me with a quick bob of her head.
I regarded her failure to acknowledge my greeting as a slight.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Admitting & confessing

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(Definition of “acknowledge” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“acknowledge” in American English

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(Definition of “acknowledge” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“acknowledge” in Business English

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(Definition of “acknowledge” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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acknowledge

On the one hand, we hypocritically acknowledge the right of the public to have access to documents, and, on the other, we admit that some of these documents are 'confidential' .