attain

verb

at·​tain ə-ˈtān 

attained; attaining; attains

transitive verb

1

: to reach as an end : gain, achieve

attain a goal

2

: to come into possession of : obtain

he attained preferment over his fellows

3

: to come to as the end of a progression or course of movement

They attained the top of the hill.

attain a ripe old age

intransitive verb

: to come or arrive by motion, growth, or effort

—usually used with to

will probably attain to a height of six feet

attainability

ə-ˌtā-nə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

attainable

ə-ˈtā-nə-bəl 

adjective

Synonyms

• achieve
• bag
• chalk up
• clock (up) [chiefly British]
• gain
• hit
• log
• make
• notch (up)
• rack up
• ring up
• score
• win

Examples of attain in a Sentence

a quest to attain enlightenment

She refused to let the injury keep her from attaining her goal of being in the Olympics.

This kind of tree can attain a height of 20 feet within just a few years.

The car can attain a top speed of 200 mph.

Recent Examples on the Web

That figure comes in well below a peak attained in 2022. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 3 May 2025

Los Angeles attained the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2025

If no clear winner is named after 33 rounds of voting, the top two candidates advance to a run-off but the winner must still attain a two-thirds majority. —Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2025

Beijing cannot wage a big war and still attain economic security. —Rana Mitter, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English atteynen, from Anglo-French ateign-, stem of ateindre to reach, accomplish, convict, from Vulgar Latin *attangere, alteration of Latin attingere, from ad- + tangere to touch — more at tangent entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for attain

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign
• cetane

Kids Definition

attain

verb

at·​tain ə-ˈtān 

1

: to reach as a goal : accomplish, achieve

2

: to come to possess : obtain

3

: to arrive at : reach

attain the top of the mountain

—often used with to

attainability

ə-ˌtā-nə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

attainable

-ˈtā-nə-bəl 

adjective