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.
ac|ri|mo|ni|ous /æ kr I moʊ niəs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Acrimonious words or quarrels are bitter and angry. [FORMAL ] □ There followed an acrimonious debate. ● ac|ri|mo|ni|ous|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Our relationship ended acrimoniously.
ac|ri|mo|ny /æ kr I məni, [AM ] -moʊni/ N‑UNCOUNT Acrimony is bitter and angry words or quarrels. [FORMAL ] □ The council's first meeting ended in acrimony.
ac|ro|bat /æ krəbæt/ (acrobats ) N‑COUNT An acrobat is an entertainer who performs difficult physical acts such as jumping and balancing, especially in a circus.
ac|ro|bat|ic /æ krəbæ t I k/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] An acrobatic movement or display involves difficult physical acts such as jumping and balancing, especially in a circus.
ac|ro|bat|ics /æ krəbæ t I ks/ N‑PLURAL Acrobatics are acrobatic movements.
ac|ro|nym /æ krən I m/ (acronyms ) N‑COUNT An acronym is a word composed of the first letters of the words in a phrase, especially when this is used as a name. An example of an acronym is 'NATO', which is made up of the first letters of the 'North Atlantic Treaty Organization'.
across ◆◆◆ /əkrɒ s, [AM ] əkrɔː s/ In addition to the uses shown below, across is used in phrasal verbs such as 'come across', 'get across', and 'put across'. 1 PREP If someone or something goes across a place or a boundary, they go from one side of it to the other. □ She walked across the floor and lay down on the bed. □ He watched Karl run across the street to Tommy. □ …an expedition across Africa. ● ADV [ADV after v] Across is also an adverb. □ Richard stood up and walked across to the window.
2 PREP If something is situated or stretched across something else, it is situated or stretched from one side of it to the other. □ …the floating bridge across Lake Washington in Seattle. □ He scrawled his name across the bill. ● ADV [ADV after v] Across is also an adverb. □ Trim toenails straight across using nail clippers.
3 PREP If something is lying across an object or place, it is resting on it and partly covering it. □ She found her clothes lying across the chair. □ The wind pushed his hair across his face.