procure
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(tr) to obtain or acquire; secure
-
to obtain (women or girls) to act as prostitutes
Usage
What does procure mean? To procure something is to obtain or get it, especially through special means or extra effort.The word is especially used in the context of the formal, official process of purchasing and obtaining materials, supplies, or equipment, particularly in the context of business or government.The noun form procurement most commonly refers to this process. Many large companies and government agencies have a procurement department that handles the ordering and acquisition of supplies. Such a department is often simply referred to as procurement, as in You’ll have to ask procurement to order those materials. Procurement can also be used in a general way to refer to the act or process of procuring in any context.Example: It took me a few months to track it down, but I was able to procure that rare book for her birthday.
Related Words
See get.
Other Word Forms
- procurable adjective
- procurance noun
- procurement noun
- self-procured adjective
- self-procuring adjective
- unprocured adjective
Etymology
Origin of procure
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English procuren, from Latin prōcūrāre “to take care of”; pro- 1, cure
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hegseth gave the department 180 days to insert that standard into any contract that involves procuring AI services.
From MarketWatch
The carrier, which procured the parts via its suppliers, found fraudulent components on 28 of its engines, and incurred close to $30 million in costs from removing aircraft from service and repairing the turbines.
McDonald would not give information about what style the primary gun from the school was, saying "because of its unknown origin, we don't know if there's other parties in terms of procuring that weapon".
From BBC
The clinic had enough basic medications for three months, and there was funding to procure specialized medicine for patients with complicated illnesses.
From Los Angeles Times
Authorities did not say who had owned the previously seized guns, or how the suspect procured the weapons used in the shooting.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
