Pronunciation

How to pronounce “acquisition

“acquisition” is pronounced /ˌækwəˈzɪʃən/ (ak-wuh-ZISH-uhn) in American English and /ˌakwɪˈzɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “it”.
The sound

Say “acquisition” in 4 beats

Say it like this

acquisition

/ˌækwəˈzɪʃən/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˌakwɪˈzɪʃən/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

4 beats
  1. acæ
  2. quiskwə
  3. itstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌækwəˈzɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/ˌakwɪˈzɪʃən/
Respelling
ak-wuh-ZISH-uhn
Syllables
4 — ac-quis-IT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: ac-quis-IT-ion. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌækwəˈzɪʃən/

British

/ˌakwɪˈzɪʃən/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Watch out

Where “acquisition” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    uh-KWIZ-ish-un

    the stress is on the third syllable, ZISH, not on KWIZ

Meaning

What “acquisition” means

  1. noun

    the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something

    the acquisition of wealth

  2. noun

    something acquired

    a recent acquisition by the museum

  3. noun

    the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge

    the child's acquisition of language

Say it in a sentence

The acquisition was announced on a quiet Friday afternoon.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

acquisition”, answered

How do you pronounce “acquisition”?

“acquisition” is pronounced /ˌækwəˈzɪʃən/ (ak-wuh-ZISH-uhn) in American English and /ˌakwɪˈzɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “it”. Build it as ac-quis-IT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “acquisition” have?

4: ac · quis · it · ion. The beat lands on the third, “it”.

Is “acquisition” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌækwəˈzɪʃən/ (ak-wuh-ZISH-uhn); British English says /ˌakwɪˈzɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “acquisition” mean?

As a noun: the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something For example: “the acquisition of wealth” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “acquisition”?

Stress the third syllable: ac-quis-IT-ion. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “acquisition” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.