acquire

[[t]əkwa͟ɪ͟ə(r)[/t]]

♦♦♦

acquires, acquiring, acquired

1) VERB If you acquire something, you buy or obtain it for yourself, or someone gives it to you. [FORMAL]

[V n] General Motors acquired a 50% stake in Saab for about $400m...

[V n from n] I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree which has been felled...

[V-ed] She was sitting in her newly-acquired wheelchair.

2) VERB If you acquire something such as a skill or a habit, you learn it, or develop it through your daily life or experience.

[V n] I've never acquired a taste for wine...

[V-ed] Having read the book, she will be able to pass on the acquired knowledge to trainee teachers.

3) VERB If someone or something acquires a certain reputation, they start to have that reputation.

[V n] He has begun to acquire a reputation among some critics as perhaps this country's premier solo violinist.

4) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR If you describe something as an acquired taste, you mean that a lot of people do not like it when they first experience it, but often start to like it more when they get to know it better.

Broad beans are very much an acquired taste....

Living alone is an acquired taste.