acquaintancenoun
uk/əˈkweɪn.təns/us/əˈkweɪn.təns/C1 [ C ] a person that you have met but do not know well:
a business acquaintance
[ U ] formal used in some expressions about knowing or meeting people:
It was at the Taylors' party that I first made his acquaintance (= first met him).
I wasn't sure about Darryl when I first met her, but on further acquaintance (= knowing her a little more) I rather like her.
[ U ] formal knowledge of a subject:
Sadly, my acquaintance with Spanish literature is rather limited.
More examples
- He gradually lost contact with all his old acquaintances.
- Professor Stevens is a professional acquaintance of mine - shall I introduce you to him?
- I recently met an old work acquaintance of mine and I hardly recognized him.
- I hope you'll consider me a friend and not just an acquaintance.
- The news quickly spread around all our friends and acquaintances.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Friends, acquaintances & contemporaries
- a friend in need is a friend indeed idiom
- acquainted
- amigo
- bedmate
- BFF
- companion
- escort
- friendless
- gang
- girl
- girlfriend
- housemate
- intimate 1
- neighbour
- peer
- pen pal
- penfriend
- playmate
- posse
- roommate
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Knowledge and awareness
acquaintanceship
noun [ C or U ] uk/əˈkweɪn.təns.ʃɪp/us/əˈkweɪn.təns.ʃɪp/formal
Ours was a strictly professional acquaintanceship (= relationship).
Idiom(s)
have a passing/slight/nodding acquaintance with sth