procurement

[proh-kyoor-muhnt, pruh‑]

noun

1. the act of procuring, or obtaining or getting by effort, care, or the use of special means.

   The organ procurement procedure is very complicated.

2. the act of obtaining equipment, materials, or supplies.

   The secretary of defense argued in favor of increasing the budget for procurement.

Other Word Forms

• nonprocurement noun
• self-procurement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of procurement¹

First recorded in 1300–50; procure ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Example Sentences

A few months later procurement orders were issued for major items such as a new "panel line" to process steel plates but it has now emerged that these notices were withdrawn in March.

From BBC

The White House has defended the accuracy of DOGE’s claims, with a spokesperson recently saying, “All numbers are rigorously scrubbed with agency procurement officials.”

From Salon

"Over time, procurement price of ethanol has increased and now the weighted average price of ethanol is higher than cost of refined petrol," the petroleum ministry said earlier this month.

From BBC

“The contract between Los Angeles County and Smartmatic USA was competitively bid, evaluated and awarded in compliance with the county’s open competitive public procurement processes.”

From Los Angeles Times

A more significant deterrent will be delayed payments and difficult contract enforcement, which are "major legacy issues when it comes to public procurement in India", says Srijan Shukla of the Observer Research Foundation think-tank.

From BBC

Related Words

• acquisition 

When To Use

What does procurement mean?

Procurement most commonly refers to the formal, official process of purchasing and obtaining materials, supplies, or equipment, especially in the context of business or government.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 is the noun form of the verb procure. In general, procurement means the act of getting something, especially through special means or extra effort, as in The procurement of transplant organs is a complex process.Example: If someone says they work in procurement, it means they spend a lot of time navigating the supply chain to get what their company needs.