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
Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 2 May 2026
Leah Spasova, a psychologist from Oxfordshire, spent years trying to obtain sterilization on the NHS when at the same time her health provider funds vasectomies for men.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 2 May 2026
According to the evaluation, 83% of participants receiving housing subsidies remained housed after one year, exceeding the program’s retention goal, while 56% of 460 participants studied obtained subsidies and secured housing.
—City News Service, Daily News, 2 May 2026
Photos obtained of the scene by Reuters showed the white bus on its side and covered in mud in a hillside near Amatlán de Cañas.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 2 May 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 3 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
obtain
verb
