Definition of “acquire” - English Dictionary

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“acquire” in English

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acquireverb [ T ]

uk ​ /əˈkwaɪər/ us ​ /əˈkwaɪɚ/

B2 to get something:

He acquired the firm in 2008.
I was wearing a newly/recently acquired jacket.
I seem to have acquired (= have got although I don't know how) two copies of this book.
He has acquired a reputation for being difficult to work with.

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Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Idiom(s)

an acquired taste

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

“acquire” in American English

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acquireverb [ T ]

us ​ /əˈkwɑɪər/

› to obtain or begin to have something:

His family acquired the property in 1985.
She acquired her love of the outdoors as a child.

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

“acquire” in Business English

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acquireverb [ T ]

uk ​ /əˈkwaɪər/ us ​

› to buy or take control of a company or part of a company, often by buying shares in it:

They acquired a chain of about 20 phone shops.
acquire control/ownership of sth He had just acquired control of the New York Times.
be acquired by sb/sth Mutual of New York was later acquired by French insurance conglomerate AXA.
Many checkout staff acquired shares in the company.

› MARKETING to get the legal right to use or do something:

acquire rights to sth The broadcaster did not disclose exactly how it acquired rights to the material.

› to get something that is important to your business:

We've acquired a million new customers in a year.
It's a good time to acquire new talent.

› WORKPLACE to get something that is important to you in your job:

Aptitude tests attempt to judge a person's ability to acquire new skills.

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

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acquire

Acquire a more comprehensive circle of advisers.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
My amendment, which was aimed at bringing about transparency in the application and appointment procedure, will no doubt acquire significance in the longer term.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
When we cannot grant their requests, these people do not all go back but acquire the status of illegals, people who do not actually exist.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The ideal way of supporting this minority must be geared towards education programmes, whose role is to help these communities acquire the skills required to access the labour market.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The guarantees allow countries in difficulties to acquire credit on the international markets more cheaply than they would at normal market rates.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
In those states, the euro can at best acquire the position of a second currency, additional to the national currency and involved in an ever-fluctuating exchange rate battle.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Also of concern is the fact that an increasing number of young people are leaving school early and do not acquire any qualifications later.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Neither, of course, do we currently have the necessary technological means, but the quest to acquire them would be a challenge worthy of consideration.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
In particular, we place high priority on a thorough and systematic curriculum for educating the young as well as the disadvantaged, to enable them to acquire information capabilities.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Because, without liberalisation and without interoperability in the network, it is obvious that the railways, which are the most environmentally-friendly, will never be able to acquire the required momentum.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Translations of “acquire”
 
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