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# acquiring

verb form (present participle of «acquire»: acquire, acquires, acquired, acquiring)

«acquiring» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (formal) Acquiring means getting or gaining something, often by buying it or by effort. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/#m1)
2. Acquiring a skill or habit means learning it over time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/#m2)

### In the lessons

A formal word in exam language: «acquiring new skills», «acquiring land». In science, animals acquire features over time; a body can acquire immunity. In everyday talk people say «getting», «buying» or «picking up».

### Examples

- She is acquiring a taste for spicy food. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/#x1)
- The museum is acquiring a new dinosaur skeleton. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/#x2)
- We are acquiring new words every day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/#x3)
- Acquiring a second language takes practice. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/#x4)
- The company is acquiring a smaller shop. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/#x5)
- He is acquiring quite a collection of stamps. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/#x6)

### Note

Spelling: «acq» at the start and the «e» of «acquire» is dropped before «-ing». Noun: acquisition. Formal; plain words: getting, gaining, learning.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «acquiring» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/acquiring/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«acquiring» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/acquiring.html) on Mova free.