Roger Manvell
Walter Gellhorn, The Legal Bibliography: Traditions, Transitions, and Trends, 1989
Did you know?
If you have difficulty choosing whether to use obtain or attain in a sentence, don’t worry, we get it. Both can mean “to get” or “to acquire,” and in some situations can be used synonymously, but one or the other might be more appropriate depending on what is being acquired and how. One clue is their respective etymologies: obtain comes to us via Anglo-French from the Latin verb obtinēre, meaning “to hold on to, possess,” while attain’s Anglo-French ancestor is ateindre, meaning “to reach” or “to accomplish.” Accordingly, obtain is usually the word used when you are acquiring, by planned effort, a tangible object—something you can hold. “We are having trouble obtaining the supplies we need” sounds natural, for example, while “Have you attained the sugar and flour I asked for?” does not. Reflecting its roots (and also implying effort), attain is often used in the same way as achieve, as in “After decades of hard work she attained her goal of earning a PhD.” Of course, one can also obtain intangible things, such as power or information, so consider this advice something to hold onto and consider when the moment arises—you needn’t cling to it.
Examples of obtain in a Sentence
Andrea Rodríguez, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026
Video of a woman who appeared to be the singer’s best friend, Abigail Anderson Berard, holding a child on the balcony of the home was obtained by TMZ earlier this week.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 20 June 2026
In footage obtained by the outlet, police appear to be chasing Galtman on a highway in Castaic.
—Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 20 June 2026
The Justice Department obtained the materials during Special Counsel Robert Hur’s 2023 investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
—Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for obtain
Cite this Entry
“Obtain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obtain. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
obtain
verb
