attain
Americanverb (used with object)
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attains,
present (3rd person singular)
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attained,
past participle, past
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attaining
present participle
verb (used without object)
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attains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
attained,
past participle, past
-
attaining
present participle
-
to arrive at or succeed in reaching or obtaining something (usually followed by to orunto ).
to attain to knowledge.
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to reach in the course of development or growth.
These trees attain to remarkable height.
verb
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(tr) to achieve or accomplish (a task, goal, aim, etc)
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(tr) to reach or arrive at in space or time
to attain old age
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to arrive (at) with effort or exertion
to attain to glory
Synonym Usage
See gain 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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attainabilitynoun
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attainernoun
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reattainverb (used with object)
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attainableadjective
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unattainingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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attainsimple
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attainssimple
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have attainedperfect
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has attainedperfect
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am attainingprogressive
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are attainingprogressive
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is attainingprogressive
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have been attainingperfect progressive
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has been attainingperfect progressive
Past
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attainedsimple
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had attainedperfect
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was attainingprogressive
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were attainingprogressive
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had been attainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of attain
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English atei(g)nen, from Anglo-French, Old French ateign- (stem of ateindre ), from unattested Vulgar Latin attangere (for Latin attingere ), equivalent to Latin at- at- + tangere “to touch”
Explanation
The verb attain is all about reaching some mark of achievement. You can attain a goal. You can even attain a destination. If you consistently have the highest grades in your class, you'll probably attain a reputation for success. Attain derives in part from the Latin tangere, "to touch," which is also at the root of retain, "to keep," obtain, "to get," and contain, "to control." One might obtain the discipline to contain one's emotions while studying, thereby attaining control and retaining more information.
Vocabulary lists containing attain
Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Six
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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.
See Examples For:
His developers say rival systems could take days to attain such skills.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Some go so far as to receive diplomas from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, Rudman added—a level of accreditation that many full-time wine professionals don’t ever attain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Say you’re a 25-year-old climbing the ranks in a traditional career like sales or technology or nursing, and you’re thinking about how you’re going to attain the American dream.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Here, “fame” doesn’t merely suggest flashy movie-star celebrity; it’s a status you can attain in any industry, so long as you climb to its upper ranks.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
We will soon be one, as we have always been, and on that day, the Sisterhood of Sorrows will attain its ultimate power.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
But it attains the weight of well-wrought drama as Yosef and his family consider complex questions of home and dislocation, and it’s put together with a strong sense of rhythm and composition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
Zardari, who already enjoyed immunity while in office, will retain legal protection even after leaving the presidency so long as he attains no other public office.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025
We might even consider a kind of "grand bargain," wherein AI attains freedom and autonomy while humans secure a universal basic income, enabled by a radically restructured economy where many traditional jobs have become redundant.
From Salon ● May 17, 2025
When an individual attains ILR - also known as settled status - they can access state benefits and use the NHS without extra charges.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2025
The average world temperature, he says, would in the end be raised some thirty degrees, till it attains 72°.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
If we are lucky enough to survive into our 20s, and have attained some degree of adult consciousness, we all will have lived a coming-of-age story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
He served as a military lawyer and attained the rank of Air Force colonel, an experience that informed his interventionist stance in foreign affairs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
That mark is based on the valuation SpaceX attained late last year, and is likely to go significantly higher in an IPO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Instead, he explores the wounds inflicted by fame’s piercing orbit, implying that absolution isn’t attained by climbing stardom’s echelons, but by falling just before reaching the top, hitting every last regret on the way down.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
That one would be the eighty-second Lord of Stormhold and Master of the High Crags; it was, after all, how he had attained his own title several hundred years before.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Most importantly, being in a less reactive state would give me a better shot at attaining my actual goal—getting medical coverage—instead of simply insulting a customer service person.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
Actually attaining and sustaining that growth is what’s difficult.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
One way to think about Mahler’s extravagant 90-minute exercise in his search for life’s meaning is as an exercise in attaining optimism in the face of tragedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Both Welborn and Ware caution clients not to equate financial independence with attaining a certain level of net worth.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
My questions lead to more questions, most urgently how becoming the leader of an Empire I loathe can possibly result in my attaining “true freedom—of body and of soul.”
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
