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)
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attained,
past participle, past
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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:
Jim was not a bad person, just not my person, and unlike me, he had the clarity of who he was, what he wanted and actually liked himself — qualities I had yet to attain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
You might assume that only certain wealthy folks attain financial independence.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
Walt Hazzard and Gail Goodrich didn’t attain the necessary 75% of votes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
Only then can one attain a view like this and perhaps, with a naked eye, see mountains as they see each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
The only sustaining support possible for the human spirit, the one pure unsullied good men can hope to attain, is heroism; and heroism depends on lost causes.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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
A desire to maintain privacy as she attains the kind of visibility that has people curious about her dating life is its own type of Hollywood thriller.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025
But he who attains the principality through popular favour finds himself alone, and has around him either no one or very few who are not ready to obey him.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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
Our founders scarcely could have foreseen the world we inhabit today: the industries we have built, the technologies we have invented, the prosperity we have created and the power we have attained.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 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
On April 14, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party attained a majority in Parliament thanks to by-elections and defections from the opposition Conservatives.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
“And you still have not attained wisdom,” the father lion told him.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
And in five countries, workers had to wait until mid-July before finally attaining tax freedom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 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
But that estimate isn’t based on actual salary increases employees received after attaining an AI certification; it comes from a model trained on government salary data and the salary ranges on job postings, Abdelwahed noted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Or is it attaining larger participation figures across the nation?
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026
The cards indicated how the person was likely to vote on certain issues, what his basic values were, and what past indications he had given about his feelings toward women attaining the vote.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
