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Synonyms

obtain

American

[uhb-teyn] / əbˈteɪn /

verb (used with object)

to come into possession of; get, acquire, or procure, as through an effort or by a request.

to obtain permission;
to obtain a better income.

Synonyms:

attain, win, earn, achieve, gain

Antonyms:

forgo, lose
Obsolete. to attain or reach.

verb (used without object)

to be prevalent, customary, or in vogue; prevail.

the morals that obtained in Rome.
Archaic. to succeed.

obtain British

/ əbˈteɪn /

verb

(tr) to gain possession of; acquire; get
(intr) to be customary, valid, or accepted

a new law obtains in this case
archaic (tr) to arrive at
archaic (intr) to win a victory; succeed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See get.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of obtain

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English obteinen, from Middle French obtenir, from Latin obtinēre “to take hold of,” equivalent to ob- ob- ( def. ) + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”

Explanation

Obtain means to get something that is not so easy to come by such as knowledge, rights, or a large amount of money. You wouldn't say you obtained a pair of pants, unless they were one of a kind. At times in its history, obtain has meant to be victorious or to succeed. Today, it mostly means to acquire, but keeping its prior meanings in mind helps you to use it in the right way. College degrees are something that you obtain as is permission from your parents to go to a party. When you obtain something, you have worked hard to get it, so you are pretty happy to have it.

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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:

obtain obtains obtained obtaining

That limitation has slowed attempts to obtain molecular information from these specimens.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

States require utilities and retail suppliers to obtain a specified share of electricity from qualifying renewable sources.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

The WCU needs such evidence to obtain court warrants to go in and seize the animals.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

The company allegedly paid a university professor to pose as a researcher interested in a company’s memory devices, when the real purpose was to obtain a chip so Huawei could copy it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Their weapons were the tradecraft of spies—the dead drop, the brush pass, the one-time pad—and their missions almost always had the same goal: to obtain vital information about the enemy.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

The Social Security Administration obtains medical records to determine a person’s eligibility when they apply for disability benefits.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

And if the inmate obtains a new injunction, he can be transferred again, and the whole process starts over.

From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026

But Merz insisted that he still shared Trump's goal of ensuring Iran never obtains an atomic weapon, even if he has criticised the US handling of the conflict.

From Barron's ● May 3, 2026

But the document leaves the door open to purchases from outside Europe if necessary, as long as Kyiv obtains the approval of the commission.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026

“It was a most beautiful sight one obtains in the descent of the car, for then the whole fair grounds is laid before you,” Gronau said.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

John Flood, a managing director at Goldman, said in a client note obtained by MarketWatch that investors were demonstrating a surprising lack of willingness to “play meaningful offense.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

She obtained a whole-body Prenuvo MRI even though her primary care physician told her she did not need one.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

In video footage obtained by KABC, waves could be seen crashing onto the rocks below the house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Publicly available flight data will have to be compared with information gleaned from information obtained from the aircraft’s black boxes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Wilkins had obtained some highly purified DNA from a Swiss lab and stretched it into thin, uniform fibers.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

While the designation does not prevent all development on the headland, it does restrict the kind of changes owners to property within the boundary can make without first obtaining planning permission.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

I’m the executor of the estate and am in the process of obtaining a tax ID to open an estate bank account.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026

The declining weapons stocks come as allies are experiencing delays in obtaining munitions they have purchased from the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Breast cancer is not included in France's official list of occupational diseases, meaning that obtaining recognition can be a lengthy and difficult ordeal for patients.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Alba had no trouble obtaining the key to her mother’s pantry, arguing that there was no need to hoard ordinary flour and poor men’s beans when you could buy Baltic crab and Swiss chocolate.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023