acquisition
Other forms: acquisitions
An acquisition is something you acquire — a book, a skill or if you are a mogul, a company. It describes things you have purchased, things you have learned, or things you have gotten.
Acquisition has a formal sense to it. We don't talk about our new jeans as our latest acquisition, unless we are the kind of person who refers to their latest copy of Vogue as their Bible. It is very commonly used to refer to paintings purchased by museums — in fact, large museums have acquisition departments.
Definitions of acquisition
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something acquired“a recent acquisition by the museum”types:purchasesomething acquired by purchasegiftsomething acquired without compensationstock buybacka corporation's purchase of its own outstanding stock; increases earnings/share so stock price rises (which can discourage a takeover attempt)devise(law) a gift of real property by willfree lunchsomething acquired without effort or payment or obligationbride pricemoney or property given (in some societies) by the bridegroom to the family of his bridelargess, largessea gift or money given (as for service or out of benevolence); usually given ostentatiouslyaid, economic aid, financial aidmoney given or loaned to support someone, especially a student in higher educationaward, prizesomething given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition or for winning a lotterypresentsomething presented as a giftcontribution, donationa voluntary gift (as of money or service or ideas) made to some worthwhile causeenrichmenta gift that significantly increases the recipient's wealthlagniappea small gift (especially one given by a merchant to a customer who makes a purchase)giveawaya gift of public land or resources for the private gain of a limited groupgift horsea gift (usually of inferior quality) that should be accepted uncriticallyofferingsomething presented to a deity as a sacrifice or symbol of devotionexpensesomething for which one is required to pay moneytype of:
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the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something“the acquisition of wealth”“the acquisition of one company by another”types:incurringacquiring or coming into something (usually undesirable)moneymakingthe act of making money (and accumulating wealth)annexationthe formal act of acquiring something (especially territory) by conquest or occupationpork-barrelingacquisition of government money for benefits to a specific localepurchasethe acquisition of something for paymentacceptancethe act of taking something that is offeredbuyoutacquisition of a company by purchasing a controlling percentage of its stockclawbackfinding a way to take money back from people that they were given in another wayleveraged buyouta buyout using borrowed money; the target company's assets are usually security for the loanstrategic buyoutan acquisition based on analysis of the benefits of consolidation in anticipation of increased earning powertakeovera change by sale or merger in the controlling interest of a corporation
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the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge“the child's acquisition of language”synonyms: learningtypes:conditioninga learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a stimulus in its environmentdevelopmental learninglearning that takes place as a normal part of cognitive developmentdigestionlearning and coming to understand ideas and informationeducationthe gradual process of acquiring knowledgeincorporation, internalisation, internalizationlearning (of values or attitudes etc.) that is incorporated within yourselfimprintinga learning process in early life whereby species specific patterns of behavior are establishedlanguage learninglearning to use a languagecarry-over, transfer, transfer of trainingapplication of a skill learned in one situation to a different but similar situationintrojection(psychology) unconscious internalization of aspects of the world (especially aspects of persons) within the self in such a way that the internalized representation takes over the psychological functions of the external objectsintrojection(psychoanalysis) the internalization of the parent figures and their values; leads to the formation of the superegoaudio lingual acquisitionsystem of language acquisition focusing intensively on listening and speakingaccommodationin the theories of Jean Piaget: the modification of internal representations in order to accommodate a changing knowledge of realityassimilationin the theories of Jean Piaget: the application of a general schema to a particular instancegeneralisation, generalization, stimulus generalisation, stimulus generalization(psychology) transfer of a response learned to one stimulus to a similar stimulusacculturation, assimilationthe process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structuremasteringbecoming proficient in the use of something; having mastery ofspecial educationeducation of physically or mentally handicapped children whose needs cannot be met in an ordinary classroomvocational education, vocational trainingtraining for a specific vocation in industry or agriculture or tradeexperimental extinction, extinctiona conditioning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulusaversive conditioningconditioning to avoid an aversive stimulusclassical conditioningconditioning that pairs a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that evokes a reflex; the stimulus that evokes the reflex is given whether or not the conditioned response occurs until eventually the neutral stimulus comes to evoke the reflexoperant conditioningconditioning in which an operant response is brought under stimulus control by virtue of presenting reinforcement contingent upon the occurrence of the operant responsecounter conditioningconditioning in which a second incompatible response is conditioned to an already conditioned stimulustype of:basic cognitive processcognitive processes involved in obtaining and storing knowledge
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an ability that has been acquired by trainingsynonyms: accomplishment, acquirement, attainment, skilltypes:horsemanshipskill in handling and riding horsesliteracythe ability to read and writemarksmanshipskill in shootingmastershipthe skill of a mastermixologyskill in preparing mixed drinksnumeracyskill with numbers and mathematicsoarsmanshipskill as an oarsmansalesmanshipskill in selling; skill in persuading people to buyseamanshipskill in sailingshowmanshipthe ability to present something (especially theatrical shows) in an attractive mannerswordsmanshipskill in fencingboatmanshipskill in handling boatshousecraftskill in domestic managementpriestcraftthe skills involved in the work of a prieststagecraftskill in writing or staging playstradecraftskill acquired through experience in a trade; often used to discuss skill in espionagewatercraftskill in the management of boatswoodcraftskill in carving or fashioning objects from wood
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Vocabulary lists containing acquisition
The Giver
Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a regimented community that is free from pain and suffering — but also free from joy, independence, and even color. When he is appointed the community's Receiver of Memory, Jonas begins to question everything he has been taught.
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
National Pack Rat Day is May 17th. Here's a hoard of highly collectable words that'll help you amass an impressive vocabulary. Read the related article: Highly Collectable Words for National Pack Rat Day
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
In the fourth book of the Harry Potter series, the Triwizard Tournament brings foreign students — and unexpected dangers — to Hogwarts.