make the acquaintance of

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ac•quaint•ance /əˈkweɪntns/   n. 

1. a person whom one knows casually:
   [countable] only a business acquaintance.
2. personal knowledge or information:
   [uncountable] his acquaintance with African literature.
   [countable] I have some acquaintance with the Swedish language.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ac•quaint•ance  (ə kwān′tns), n. 

1. a person known to one, but usually not a close friend.
2. the state of being acquainted.
3. personal knowledge as a result of study, experience, etc.:
   a good acquaintance with French wines.
4. (used with a pl. v.) the persons with whom one is acquainted.

Also, ac•quaint′ance•ship′ (for defs. 2, 3).

• Old French acointance. See acquaint, -ance
• Middle English aqueinta(u)nce, acoyntaunce 1250–1300

Synonyms

• 1. Acquaintance, associate, companion, friend refer to a person with whom one is in contact. An acquaintance is someone recognized by sight or someone known, though not intimately:
  a casual acquaintance.
  An associate is a person who is often in one's company, usually because of some work, enterprise, or pursuit in common:
  a business associate.
  A companion is a person who shares one's activities, fate, or condition:
  a traveling companion; companion in despair.
  A friend is a person with whom one is on intimate terms and for whom one feels a warm affection:
  a trusted friend.
• 3. familiarity, awareness.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

acquaintance / əˈkweɪntəns/ noun

1. a person with whom one has been in contact but who is not a close friend
2. knowledge of a person or thing, esp when slight
3. make the acquaintance of ⇒ to come into social contact with
4. those persons collectively whom one knows

acˈquaintanceˌship noun