obtain
verb (used with object)
to come into possession of; get, acquire, or procure, as through an effort or by a request.
had been obtaining
-
past perfect progressiveof obtain.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Although Starlink isn’t active in Russia, Moscow’s forces had been obtaining terminals from middlemen who sent them from other countries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
Mr. Klee noted that patients had been obtaining the ingredients on their own for some time, buying the taurursodiol supplement from Amazon and paying up to $11,000 a month for the sodium phenylbutyrate.
From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2022
I had been obtaining my information as to Europe at second hand, from friends good enough to come down now and then to see us.
From Notes on Life and Letters by Joseph Conrad
It had not been noticed that in these minor assaults the English had been obtaining positions of strategic importance, and that they were steadily getting ready for an English offensive.
From History of the World War An Authentic Narrative of the World's Greatest War by Francis Andrew March
Miss Paul had been obtaining names for membership in the Union during all the sessions of the convention.
From The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume V by Ida Husted Harper
