obtain
Americanverb (used with object)
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obtains,
present (3rd person singular)
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obtained,
past participle, past
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obtaining
present participle
verb (used without object)
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obtains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
obtained,
past participle, past
-
obtaining
present participle
-
to be prevalent, customary, or in vogue; prevail.
the morals that obtained in Rome.
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Archaic. to succeed.
verb
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(tr) to gain possession of; acquire; get
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(intr) to be customary, valid, or accepted
a new law obtains in this case
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archaic (tr) to arrive at
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archaic (intr) to win a victory; succeed
Synonym Usage
See get.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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obtainabilitynoun
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obtainernoun
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obtainmentnoun
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preobtainverb (used with object)
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reobtainverb (used with object)
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obtainableadjective
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preobtainableadjective
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reobtainableadjective
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unobtainableadjective
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unobtainedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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obtainsimple
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obtainssimple
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have obtainedperfect
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has obtainedperfect
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am obtainingprogressive
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are obtainingprogressive
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is obtainingprogressive
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have been obtainingperfect progressive
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has been obtainingperfect progressive
Past
-
obtainedsimple
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had obtainedperfect
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was obtainingprogressive
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were obtainingprogressive
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had been obtainingperfect progressive
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.
Vocabulary lists containing obtain
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 1
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100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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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:
After decades of extraction, the biggest deposits have been depleted, meaning companies have to process ever more ore to obtain the same quantities of the metal.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
States obtain federal matching funds based on those proceeds, then return money to providers through supplemental payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Even intelligence agencies struggle to obtain reliable information, and much of what emerges is heavily caveated as unverified or highly likely rather than confirmed fact.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
It took 39 days for Citrini to obtain its first testing results from the contract research organizations it hired.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
“No, she found the key’s hiding place before I did. Last month, she said. She just wasn’t able to obtain the key until now.”
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
The Social Security Administration obtains medical records to determine a person’s eligibility when they apply for disability benefits.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Through it all, Mr. Trump has limited the U.S. responses to self-defense and insisted the cease-fire still obtains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
"Immediate supply shortages" were not expected as Germany only obtains a small proportion of its energy supplies from the Middle East, it said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
Sheriff Marks Mangaba's role is to carry out instructions from courts, which includes dealing with evictions from buildings once a property owner obtains an eviction order.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025
If she obtains a copy of the exam early—that is, illegitimately—she can prepare them for specific questions.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
"The results obtained this week revealed traces of AI tags in the metadata of certain documents," Boreal said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
According to the court documents, obtained by The Times, the Greenbergs called the firm after seeing several Rosland Capital commercials on TV, which they claim were “designed in large part to appeal to senior citizens.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
Last week Raice summoned the foreign staff to a virtual meeting and delivered a 15-minute tirade that Status obtained on audio and later released in full.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
A key part of City's defence will be that the Independent Commission relied too heavily on the emails obtained through the Football Leaks files.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
My avatar had the same level and ability scores I’d had previously, but my inventory was completely empty except for one item—the quarter I’d obtained after playing my perfect game of Pac-Man on Archaide.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
People obtaining experimental medications through unapproved channels may not be represented in those systems.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
There are various roadblocks, such as securing massive amounts of graphics processing units, paying for all of those, navigating political resistance to data centers and obtaining sufficient power.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
Residents in and around Hastings who had been assured of tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry say they have had "considerable difficulty" obtaining the tickets.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
The company has signaled that it could potentially spend $750 billion in the coming years on obtaining more computing capacity, including deals it is still negotiating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Hearing the news in Washington, Conant despaired of obtaining so much bomb material out of Oak Ridge by any method.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
