Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

1 VERB If you acquire something, you buy or obtain it for yourself, or someone gives it to you. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] He yesterday revealed he had acquired a 2.98 per cent stake in the company. □ [V n + from ] I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.

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 spicy food.

3 VERB If someone or something acquires a certain reputation, they start to have that reputation. □ [V n] He has acquired a reputation as this country's premier solo violinist.

4 PHRASE 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. SYNONYMS acquire VERB 1

get:I'm getting a bike for my birthday.

receive:They will receive their awards at a ceremony in Stockholm.

obtain:Evans was trying to obtain a false passport and other documents.

ac|qui red im|mune de|fi |cien|cy syn|drome N‑UNCOUNT Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is the same as AIDS .

ac|quir|er /əkwa I ə rə ^r / (acquirers ) N‑COUNT In business, an acquirer is a company or person who buys another company. [BUSINESS ]

ac|qui|si|tion ◆◇◇ /æ kw I z I ʃ ^ə n/ (acquisitions )

1 N‑VAR If a company or business person makes an acquisition , they buy another company or part of a company. [BUSINESS ] □ [+ of ] …the acquisition of a profitable paper recycling company.

2 N‑COUNT If you make an acquisition , you buy or obtain something, often to add to things that you already have. □ [+ of ] …the President's recent acquisition of a helicopter.

3 N‑UNCOUNT [n N ] The acquisition of a skill or a particular type of knowledge is the process of learning it or developing it. □  …language acquisition.

ac|quisi|tive /əkw I z I t I v/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a person or an organization as acquisitive , you do not approve of them because you think they are too concerned with getting new possessions. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  We live in an acquisitive society.

ac|quit /əkw I t/ (acquits , acquitting , acquitted )

1 VERB [usu passive] If someone is acquitted of a crime in a court of law, they are formally declared not to have committed the crime. □ [be V -ed + of ] Mr Ling was acquitted of disorderly behaviour by magistrates.

2 VERB If you acquit yourself well or admirably in a particular situation, other people feel that you have behaved well or admirably. [FORMAL ] □ [V pron-refl adv] Most officers and men acquitted themselves well throughout the action.

ac|quit|tal /əkw I t ^ə l/ (acquittals ) N‑VAR Acquittal is a formal declaration in a court of law that someone who has been accused of a crime is innocent. □ [+ of ] …the acquittal of six police officers charged with beating a suspect. □  The jury voted 8-to-4 in favor of acquittal.

acre ◆◇◇ /e I kə ^r / (acres ) N‑COUNT An acre is an area of land measuring 4840 square yards or 4047 square metres. □ [+ of ] The property is set in two acres of land.

acre|age /e I kər I dʒ/ (acreages ) N‑VAR Acreage is a large area of farm land. [FORMAL ] □  He has sown coffee on part of his acreage. □ [+ of ] Enormous acreages of soya beans are grown in the United States.

ac|rid /æ kr I d/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] An acrid smell or taste is strong and sharp, and usually unpleasant. □  The room filled with the acrid smell of tobacco.