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
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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:
Although vacuum birefringence was predicted in the 1930s, Dr. Lower said scientists have yet to obtain a definitive detection.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
Before its services can run, Virgin still needs to procure a rolling stock of trains for the route, gain access to other rail networks and obtain safety approvals from British and European Union authorities.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
After all, the very nature of how Green Lanterns obtain their superhuman abilities involves cosmically empowered rings choosing their wearers.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Such certifications can take anywhere from hours to months to obtain, ranging in price from free to thousands of dollars in tuition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
It appeared that I’d received a bonus for being the first avatar to obtain the Copper Key.
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
And if the inmate obtains a new injunction, he can be transferred again, and the whole process starts over.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
The deal creates an opportunity to ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, Rutte said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 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
“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
“Tail hedges remain ridiculously cheap,” said Goldman Sachs’ Rich Privorotsky in commentary obtained by MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
The court heard she had obtained a licence to fly a microlight - a type of small aircraft - a few years before and had limited experience of about 150 hours.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
People with criminal records have in the past been able to reclaim their gun rights if they obtained a pardon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
For proof of concept, Quiñones proposed using a February 2021 public voter list he’d obtained for New Jersey and running it through HSI’s databases.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Anyone eager to watch the historic event in person obtained an admission ticket from District Attorney Corkhill’s office.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
Dealers can sell the packages as add-ons for customers as they are obtaining financing for a new vehicle at the point of sale, making already lucrative sales of premium models even more profitable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
The tests include so-called "capture-the-flag" evaluations in which Claude was tasked with obtaining information by breaching other systems - a common way that experts assess a model's hacking capabilities.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
The time commitments involved in obtaining these credentials vary.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Scientists have long suspected that inherited genetics helps explain these differences, but obtaining direct evidence from human studies has been difficult.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Recorde was born in Tenby, in Pembrokeshire, some time around 1510, and studied at both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, obtaining qualifications in mathematics and in medicine.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
