Acquire

Origin

Middle English aqueren, from Anglo-French acquerre, from Latin acquirere, from ad- + quaerere to seek, obtain

• 15th Century

Definitions

• 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>

See also

• Assume