# acquire

Pronunciation: US say "uh-KWY-ur" /əˈkwaɪɚ/; UK say "uh-KWY-uh" /əˈkwaɪə/

## Verb

1. To gain something, usually through one's own effort, and come to hold it as one's own.
   - Simple: To get something for yourself, usually through your own effort.
   - _Through decades of careful saving, the family managed to acquire considerable wealth._
   - _He acquired the rare manuscript at auction after years of searching for it._
2. To come to have something; to get it.
   - Simple: To get something or come to have it.
   - _The museum hopes to acquire several paintings this year._
   - _She acquired a taste for strong coffee while traveling abroad._
3. To become affected by a disease or illness.
   - Simple: To catch an illness or disease.
   - _Patients can acquire infections during prolonged hospital stays._
   - _She acquired tuberculosis while working in crowded conditions._
4. To begin tracking a mobile target with a detector or sight, typically implying that an attack on it then becomes possible. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: To start tracking a moving target with a sight or sensor, so an attack can follow.
   - _The destroyer's radar can acquire several inbound missiles at once._
   - _The gunner acquired the tank before it crossed the ridge._
5. To capture a signal by measuring it at intervals and recording the results as digital values.
   - Simple: To take signals and change them into digital numbers a computer can use.
   - _The instrument can acquire temperature readings at millisecond intervals._
   - _The system acquired thousands of samples during the test flight._

## Origin

From Middle English acqueren, from Old French aquerre, from Latin acquirō, which combines ad- with quaerō ("to seek for"), the same root seen in "quest."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/acquire (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).