attain
verb (used with object)
to reach, achieve, or accomplish; gain; obtain.
were attaining
-
past progressiveof attain.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Journalists and academics began applying the term to Asian Americans in the 1960s to explain why Japanese and Chinese Americans were attaining financial success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2021
But, for all his passion and ambition, Apatow found himself struggling to achieve the kind of career liftoff that some of his comedy peers were attaining.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2017
Meanwhile, athletes were attaining unprecedented speeds on the Whistler track.
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2010
Romstad said the Canadians granted requests for additional training time after it became clear that athletes were attaining speeds in excess of 137 k.p.h, or 85 m.p.h., the original estimate of the track’s maximum speed.
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2010
The great popular movements required some such vehicle of comment or censure; the perfection to which the arts of design were attaining supplied the means; the invention of printing ensured its dissemination.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3 "Capefigue" to "Carneades" by Various
