[ac.quire] vt ac.quired ; ac.quir.ing [ME aqueren, fr. MF aquerre, fr. L acquirere, fr. ad- + quaerere to seek, obtain] (15c) 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) "~ fluency in French" "bacteria that ~ tolerance to antibiotics"
2: to locate and hold (a desired object) in a detector "~ a target by radar"