Definition of "acquire"

acquire

/əˈkwaɪɚ/

verb
third-person singular simple present acquires, present participle acquiring, simple past and past participle acquired
1. (transitive) To get.
2. (transitive) To gain, usually by one's own exertions; to get as one's own
  Quotations
  No virtue is acquired in an instant, but by degrees, step by step.
  a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number). The Consideration of our Latter End”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831
  Descent is the title whereby a man, on the death of his ancestor, acquires his estate, by right of representation, as his heir at law.
  1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press
  Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house ; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something ; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.
  1922, Michael Arlen, “3/19/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days
3. (medicine) To become affected by an illness.
4. (computing) To sample signals and convert them into digital values.

Englia uses cookies to improve user experience.