Roger Manvell
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
Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2025
An internal memo from the FBI Chicago office, obtained in March by ABC Chicago station WLS-TV, confirmed that members of the office's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), and terrorism task forces nationwide, will be supporting Homeland Security task forces focused on making immigration arrests.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 8 June 2025
Alternatively, for a Chicago water bill, a unit owner may obtain a copy of the city of Chicago water bill and full payment certificate from the Chicago Department of Finance, which can be obtained online.
—Howard Dakoff, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
Avon teenager Suhayl Ahmed recently earned his Eagle Scout rank to become the first of Muslim faith in the town to obtain the Scouting America honor.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for obtain
Cite this Entry
“Obtain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obtain. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
obtain
verb
Share