If you’ve ever hesitated between acquire vs aquire, you’re not alone. The two spellings look almost identical, and the pronunciation doesn’t make the missing letter especially obvious. Still, there’s a clear winner: acquire is the correct spelling.
Aquire is a common spelling mistake. It isn’t an accepted alternative spelling of acquire, and it shouldn’t appear in formal writing, business communication, academic work, or edited content.
The word acquire means to get, obtain, gain, or come to possess something. You can acquire a new skill, acquire knowledge, acquire property, acquire a habit, or even acquire another company. The exact meaning depends on the context.
This guide explains the difference between acquire and aquire, why the mistake happens, how to pronounce acquire, and how to remember the correct spelling permanently.
Quick Answer:
Acquire is the correct spelling. Aquire is incorrect and should be treated as a misspelling.
Acquire is a verb meaning to get, obtain, gain, or come to possess something. For example, you might acquire a new skill, acquire knowledge, or acquire a property.
The easiest way to remember the spelling is to keep the c after the first a:
A + C + QUI + RE = ACQUIRE
So, if you’re writing a sentence such as “She wants to ___ new skills,” the answer is acquire, not aquire.
Acquire vs Aquire: Which One Is Correct?
The correct word is acquire. The spelling aquire drops the letter c, which makes it an error.
| Spelling | Correct? | Meaning |
| Acquire | Yes | To get, obtain, gain, or come to possess something |
| Aquire | No | Incorrect spelling of acquire |
The confusion usually comes from pronunciation. In American English, acquire is pronounced roughly like uh-KWYR. The first syllable is weak, and the c doesn’t sound like a separate /k/ sound. As a result, someone spelling the word from memory may write aquire.
Consider these examples:
- Correct: She wants to acquire new skills.
- Incorrect: She wants to aquire new skills.
- Correct: The company acquired a smaller competitor.
- Incorrect: The company aquired a smaller competitor.
- Correct: He acquired extensive experience during the internship.
- Incorrect: He aquired extensive experience during the internship.
The mistake is small on the page, but it matters. In professional writing, spelling errors can undermine an otherwise polished piece of communication.
What Does Acquire Mean?
Acquire generally means to get or obtain something. However, the word has a wider range of uses than the simple verb get.
You can acquire something deliberately, gradually, through effort, through experience, or through a transaction. The object being acquired can be physical, intellectual, financial, behavioral, or even abstract.
For example:
- You can acquire knowledge through study.
- You can acquire a skill through practice.
- You can acquire property by purchasing it.
- You can acquire a habit through repeated behavior.
- A business can acquire another company.
- A person can acquire a reputation over time.
- A publisher can acquire rights to a book.
This flexibility makes acquire especially common in education, business, law, finance, and formal writing.
Cambridge Dictionary defines acquire in terms of getting or obtaining something and also recognizes business-related uses involving gaining ownership or control.
Acquire Meaning in Everyday English
In ordinary conversation, get is usually more natural than acquire.
You might say:
“I got a new phone yesterday.”
That sounds perfectly natural. Saying:
“I acquired a new phone yesterday.”
is grammatically correct, but it sounds more formal and can feel unnecessarily stiff in casual conversation.
The difference becomes clearer when the thing being obtained develops over time.
Compare:
- I got a headache.
- I acquired a reputation for being reliable.
- I got some experience.
- I acquired valuable experience.
- I got a new skill.
- I acquired a specialized skill.
The second versions often suggest a process rather than a simple event. That subtle distinction is one reason acquire remains useful in formal English.
Acquire in Business
Business English uses acquire constantly.
When one company purchases or gains control of another company, the transaction is commonly described as an acquisition. The company making the purchase can be called the acquirer, while the company being purchased is the target.
For example:
“The technology company acquired a smaller software firm to expand its cloud services.”
Here, acquired means more than simply “got.” It describes a corporate transaction involving ownership or control.
The related noun is acquisition:
“The acquisition expanded the company’s presence in the European market.”
This connection can help reinforce the spelling. If you remember acquisition, the spelling of acquire becomes easier to recognize.
Acquire Knowledge or Skills
One of the most common uses of acquire involves things you develop through learning or experience.
You can acquire:
- Knowledge
- Skills
- Experience
- Expertise
- Information
- Language abilities
- Technical abilities
- Professional qualifications
- Good habits
- Bad habits
For example:
“Students acquire new vocabulary through reading and conversation.”
The word works particularly well here because learning often happens progressively. You don’t simply receive knowledge like a package. You develop or gain it over time.
That’s why phrases such as acquire knowledge, acquire skills, and acquire experience are common in educational and professional writing.
Why Is “Aquire” Incorrect?
Aquire is incorrect because standard English spells the word with a c: acquire.
There isn’t a separate word aquire with its own definition. If you see it in an article, email, résumé, academic paper, or business document, it’s almost certainly a spelling error.
The missing c is easy to understand as a mistake because English spelling doesn’t always follow pronunciation neatly. The word sounds approximately like uh-KWYR, which doesn’t make every written letter obvious.
The same issue appears in related words. The spelling becomes easier to remember when you see the entire word family:
- acquire
- acquired
- acquiring
- acquisition
- acquirer
The shared ac- beginning provides a useful visual anchor.
How to Spell Acquire Correctly
A simple spelling breakdown can make acquire easier to remember:
AC + QUI + RE
Or think of it as:
A + C + QUI + RE = ACQUIRE
The most important letter to remember is the C.
A useful mnemonic is:
You need C to acquire.
It’s short, slightly playful, and gets directly at the common mistake.
Another useful technique involves related words. Look at these together:
| Word | Correct Spelling |
| Verb | acquire |
| Past tense | acquired |
| Present participle | acquiring |
| Noun | acquisition |
| Person or company that acquires | acquirer |
Seeing the spelling family together helps your brain recognize the pattern instead of memorizing one isolated word.
Acquire Pronunciation
In American English, acquire is commonly pronounced approximately uh-KWYR.
Its dictionary pronunciation is represented as:
/əˈkwaɪr/
The stress falls on the second syllable:
uh-KWYR
That pronunciation explains part of the spelling confusion. The c isn’t pronounced as an independent /k/ sound. Instead, the letters work together within the -quire spelling pattern.
Compare these words:
- acquire
- require
- inquire
- conspire — different spelling pattern, despite some superficial similarity
The pronunciation of acquire shouldn’t lead you to remove the c. English spelling often preserves patterns that aren’t perfectly transparent from sound alone.
Read More: Achieve vs. Achive: Which Spelling Is Correct and Why?
Acquire: Example Sentences
The best way to understand acquire is to see how it behaves in different contexts.
Knowledge and Education
“Students acquire knowledge through study, discussion, and practical work.”
“She acquired a strong understanding of statistics during college.”
Skills
“He acquired several programming skills during his internship.”
“You can acquire new skills through consistent practice.”
Experience
“She acquired valuable experience while working on international projects.”
Here, acquire suggests gaining something that becomes part of your abilities or background.
Habits
“He acquired the habit of checking his work twice.”
“Children can acquire habits from their surroundings.”
The word doesn’t imply that the habit is necessarily good. You can acquire positive or negative habits.
Property
“The family acquired the property in the early 2000s.”
Here, acquire can describe obtaining ownership.
Business
“The company acquired a smaller competitor to expand its customer base.”
This is one of the most recognizable corporate uses of the word.
Reputation
“The restaurant acquired a reputation for excellent service.”
A reputation isn’t something you usually purchase directly. You acquire it gradually through repeated actions and public perception.
Acquire vs Get
Acquire and get can overlap in meaning, but they don’t always sound equally natural.
Get is one of the broadest and most common verbs in English. It works in casual conversation and can describe countless situations.
Acquire is more specific and often more formal. It tends to emphasize obtaining something, developing something, or gaining possession over time.
| Acquire | Get |
| More formal | More conversational |
| Common in professional writing | Extremely common in everyday speech |
| Often suggests obtaining or gaining | Has many meanings beyond obtaining |
| Common with knowledge and skills | Common with everyday possessions |
| Frequent in business contexts | Used in virtually every context |
Compare:
“I got some experience during college.”
and:
“I acquired valuable experience during college.”
Both are correct. The second sounds more polished and formal.
However, replacing get with acquire everywhere isn’t a good strategy. Natural writing depends on context. If you’re chatting with a friend, get will often sound better.
Acquire vs Obtain
Acquire and obtain are close in meaning, and dictionaries sometimes define each partly through the other. Still, their typical usage differs.
Obtain often focuses on successfully getting something that may require a specific action, procedure, or effort.
For example:
“You must obtain permission before entering the restricted area.”
Acquire often emphasizes gaining possession, knowledge, skills, characteristics, or control.
For example:
“She acquired extensive knowledge of accounting.”
Both words can work in some situations:
- obtain information
- acquire information
- obtain permission
- acquire property
- obtain a certificate
- acquire a skill
The distinction isn’t an absolute grammatical rule. Context determines which word sounds most natural.
Common Phrases With Acquire
Certain combinations appear frequently in natural English. Learning them as phrases can help you use acquire correctly.
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
| Acquire knowledge | Gain understanding or information | Students acquire knowledge through study. |
| Acquire skills | Develop abilities | She acquired valuable technical skills. |
| Acquire experience | Gain practical experience | He acquired experience in project management. |
| Acquire a habit | Develop a recurring behavior | She acquired the habit of exercising early. |
| Acquire a reputation | Develop a public image | The company acquired a reputation for quality. |
| Acquire a taste | Develop an appreciation for something | He acquired a taste for strong coffee. |
| Acquire property | Obtain ownership of property | They acquired the property last year. |
| Acquire rights | Gain legal or contractual rights | The publisher acquired the rights to the novel. |
| Acquire a company | Purchase or gain control of a business | The corporation acquired a technology firm. |
| Acquire customers | Gain new customers | The campaign helped acquire new customers. |
These combinations also show why acquire has a broader meaning than simply “buy.”
You can acquire something that has never been sold to you.
Word Forms of Acquire
Understanding the word family can prevent spelling mistakes and expand your vocabulary.
| Word | Part of Speech | Example |
| acquire | Verb | They acquire new customers every month. |
| acquires | Verb | The company acquires smaller businesses. |
| acquired | Past tense/past participle | She acquired the property in 2025. |
| acquiring | Present participle/gerund | The company is acquiring new technology. |
| acquisition | Noun | The acquisition strengthened the business. |
| acquirer | Noun | The acquirer purchased the company. |
Acquired
The past tense is acquired, not aquired.
For example:
“She acquired the necessary qualifications last year.”
The spelling retains the c.
Acquiring
The present participle is acquiring.
For example:
“The company is acquiring new equipment.”
Notice that the final e in acquire disappears before -ing, while the c remains.
Acquisition
The noun acquisition is particularly useful because it reinforces the same spelling family.
“The acquisition was completed after months of negotiations.”
In business, an acquisition commonly refers to one company obtaining ownership or control of another.
Acquire vs Aquire: Common Mistakes
The most frequent mistake is simply dropping the c.
Mistake 1: Aquire
Wrong: She wants to aquire new skills.
Correct: She wants to acquire new skills.
Mistake 2: Aquired
Wrong: He aquired valuable experience.
Correct: He acquired valuable experience.
Mistake 3: Acqure
Wrong: The company plans to acqure another business.
Correct: The company plans to acquire another business.
Mistake 4: Aquisition
Wrong: The aquisition was announced Monday.
Correct: The acquisition was announced Monday.
The pattern behind all four mistakes is the same: the writer loses part of the standard ac- spelling pattern.
How to Remember the Spelling of Acquire
If aquire keeps sneaking into your writing, use a simple memory strategy rather than trying to memorize the entire word repeatedly.
Remember the C
Think:
A C = Acquire Correctly
Or use the simpler mnemonic:
You need C to acquire.
Remember the Word Family
Group these words together:
acquire → acquired → acquiring → acquisition
Once ac- becomes visually familiar, the spelling becomes much harder to lose.
Write It in Context
Instead of copying acquire ten times, write three meaningful sentences:
- I want to acquire new skills.
- She acquired valuable experience.
- The company completed an acquisition.
Context creates a stronger memory than isolated repetition.
FAQs:
Is “aquire” a correct spelling?
No. Aquire is a misspelling. The correct spelling is acquire.
Is it acquire or aquire?
It is acquire. The spelling includes a c after the initial a.
What does acquire mean?
Acquire means to get, obtain, gain, or come to possess something. It can describe physical possessions as well as knowledge, skills, habits, rights, property, and businesses.
How do you pronounce acquire?
In American English, acquire is pronounced approximately uh-KWYR, represented in IPA as /əˈkwaɪr/.
Why is acquire spelled with a c?
Acquire follows the standard spelling of the English word and its related forms, including acquired, acquiring, and acquisition. The pronunciation doesn’t make the c sound obvious, which contributes to the common misspelling.
Conclusion:
The answer is simple: acquire is correct, while aquire is incorrect. The word acquire means to get, obtain, gain, develop, or come to possess something. You can acquire knowledge, acquire skills, acquire experience, acquire property, acquire a reputation, or acquire a business. If you struggle to remember it, break the word into AC + QUI + RE. Then connect it with related words such as acquired, acquiring, and acquisition.
