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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ob·tain

Audio Help [uh

–verb (used with object)

1.	to come into possession of; get, acquire, or procure, as through an effort or by a request: to obtain permission; to obtain a better income.

2.	Obsolete. to attain or reach.

–verb (used without object)

3.	to be prevalent, customary, or in vogue; prevail: the morals that obtained in Rome.

4.	Archaic. to succeed.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME obteinen < MF obtenir < L obtinére to take hold of, equiv. to ob- ob- + -tinére (comb. form of tenére to hold)

]

—Related forms

ob·tain·a·ble, adjective

ob·tain·a·bil·i·ty, noun

ob·tain·er, noun

ob·tain·ment, noun

—Synonyms 1. gain, achieve, earn, win, attain. See get.

—Antonyms 1. lose, forgo.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Obtain

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ob·tain Audio Help   (əb-tān', ŏb-) Pronunciation Key
v.   ob·tained, ob·tain·ing, ob·tains

v.   tr.
To succeed in gaining possession of as the result of planning or endeavor; acquire.

v.   intr.

To be established, accepted, or customary: "standards, proprieties that no longer obtain" (Meg Greenfield).
Archaic To succeed.

[Middle English obteinen, from Old French obtenir, from Latin obtinēre : ob-, intensive pref.; see ob- + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

ob·tain'a·ble adj., ob·tain'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
obtain

c.1425, from M.Fr. obtenir (14c.), from L. obtinere "hold, take hold of, acquire," from ob "to" (though perhaps intensive in this case) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

obtain
verb
1.	come into possession of; "How did you obtain the visa?"
2.	receive a specified treatment (abstract); "These aspects of civilization do not find expression or receive an interpretation"; "His movie received a good review"; "I got nothing but trouble for my good intentions" [syn: receive]
3.	be valid, applicable, or true; "This theory still holds" [syn: prevail]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
obtain [əbˈtein] verb

to get; to become the possessor of
Example: He obtained a large sum of money by buying and selling houses.

Arabic:	يَنال، يَحْصَل عَلى
Chinese (Simplified):	获得
Chinese (Traditional):	獲得
Czech:	obdržet
Danish:	opnå
Dutch:	verkrijgen
Estonian:	saama
Finnish:	saada
French:	obtenir
German:	erlangen
Greek:	αποκτώ, εξασφαλίζω
Hungarian:	(meg)kap
Icelandic:	afla
Indonesian:	mendapatkan
Italian:	ottenere

Japanese:	得る
Korean:	얻다
Latvian:	iegūt, dabūt
Lithuanian:	gauti, įsigyti
Norwegian:	få, skaffe seg, oppnå
Polish:	uzyskać
Portuguese (Brazil):	obter
Portuguese (Portugal):	obter
Romanian:	a obţine
Russian:	получать
Slovak:	získať
Slovenian:	pridobiti (si)
Spanish:	obtener, conseguir
Swedish:	få, skaffa sig
Turkish:	elde etmek

See also: obtainable

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Obtain

Ac*quire"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Acquired; p. pr. & vb. n. Acquiring.] [L. acquirere, acquisitum; ad + quarere to seek for. In OE. was a verb aqueren, fr. the same, through OF. aquerre. See Quest..] To gain, usually by one's own exertions; to get as one's own; as, to acquire a title, riches, knowledge, skill, good or bad habits.

No virtue is acquired in an instant, but step by step. --Barrow.

Descent is the title whereby a man, on the death of his ancestor, acquires his estate, by right of representation, as his heir at law. --Blackstone.

Syn: To obtain; gain; attain; procure; win; earn; secure. See Obtain.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Obtain

At*tain"\ ([a^]t*t[=a]n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attained (-t[=a]nd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Attaining.] [Of. atteinen, atteignen, atainen, OF. ateindre, ataindre, F. atteindre, fr. L. attingere; ad + tangere to touch, reach. See Tangent, and cf. Attinge, Attaint.]

1. To achieve or accomplish, that is, to reach by efforts; to gain; to compass; as, to attain rest.

Is he wise who hopes to attain the end without the means? --Abp. Tillotson.

2. To gain or obtain possession of; to acquire. [Obs. with a material object.] --Chaucer.

3. To get at the knowledge of; to ascertain. [Obs.]

Not well attaining his meaning. --Fuller.

4. To reach or come to, by progression or motion; to arrive at. "Canaan he now attains." --Milton.

5. To overtake. [Obs.] --Bacon.

6. To reach in excellence or degree; to equal.

Syn: To Attain, Obtain, Procure.

Usage: Attain always implies an effort toward an object. Hence it is not synonymous with obtain and procure, which do not necessarily imply such effort or motion. We procure or obtain a thing by purchase or loan, and we obtain by inheritance, but we do not attain it by such means.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Obtain

Earn\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Earned; p. pr. & vb. n. Earning.] [AS. earnian; akin to OHG. arn?n to reap, aran harvest, G. ernte, Goth. asans harvest, asneis hireling, AS. esne; cf. Icel. ["o]nn working season, work.]

1. To merit or deserve, as by labor or service; to do that which entitles one to (a reward, whether the reward is received or not).

The high repute Which he through hazard huge must earn. --Milton.

2. To acquire by labor, service, or performance; to deserve and receive as compensation or wages; as, to earn a good living; to earn honors or laurels.

I earn that [what] I eat. --Shak.

The bread I have earned by the hazard of my life or the sweat of my brow. --Burke.

Earned run (Baseball), a run which is made without the assistance of errors on the opposing side.

Syn: See Obtain.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Obtain

Gain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gained (g[=a]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Gaining.] [From gain, n. but. prob. influenced by F. gagner to earn, gain, OF. gaaignier to cultivate, OHG. weidin[=o]n, weidinen to pasture, hunt, fr. weida pasturage, G. weide, akin to Icel. vei[eth]r hunting, AS. w[=a][eth]u, cf. L. venari to hunt, E. venison. See Gain, n., profit.]

1. To get, as profit or advantage; to obtain or acquire by effort or labor; as, to gain a good living.

What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? --Matt. xvi. 26.

To gain dominion, or to keep it gained. --Milton.

For fame with toil we gain, but lose with ease. --Pope.

2. To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition; as, to gain a battle; to gain a case at law; to gain a prize.

3. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.

If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. --Matt. xviii. 15.

To gratify the queen, and gained the court. --Dryden.

4. To reach; to attain to; to arrive at; as, to gain the top of a mountain; to gain a good harbor.

Forded Usk and gained the wood. --Tennyson.

5. To get, incur, or receive, as loss, harm, or damage. [Obs. or Ironical]

Ye should . . . not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. --Acts xxvii. 21.

Gained day, the calendar day gained in sailing eastward around the earth.

To gain ground, to make progress; to advance in any undertaking; to prevail; to acquire strength or extent.

To gain over, to draw to one's party or interest; to win over.

To gain the wind (Naut.), to reach the windward side of another ship.

Syn: To obtain; acquire; get; procure; win; earn; attain; achieve.

Usage: See Obtain. -- To Gain, Win. Gain implies only that we get something by exertion; win, that we do it in competition with others. A person gains knowledge, or gains a prize, simply by striving for it; he wins a victory, or wins a prize, by taking it in a struggle with others.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Obtain

Get\ (g[e^]t), v. t. [imp. Got (g[o^]t) (Obs. Gat (g[a^]t)); p. p. Got (Obsolescent Gotten (g[o^]t"t'n)); p. pr. & vb. n. Getting.] [OE. geten, AS. gitan, gietan (in comp.); akin to Icel. geta, Goth. bigitan to find, L. prehendere to seize, take, Gr. chanda`nein to hold, contain. Cf. Comprehend, Enterprise, Forget, Impregnable, Prehensile.]

1. To procure; to obtain; to gain possession of; to acquire; to earn; to obtain as a price or reward; to come by; to win, by almost any means; as, to get favor by kindness; to get wealth by industry and economy; to get land by purchase, etc.

2. Hence, with have and had, to come into or be in possession of; to have. --Johnson.

Thou hast got the face of man. --Herbert.

3. To beget; to procreate; to generate.

I had rather to adopt a child than get it. --Shak.

4. To obtain mental possession of; to learn; to commit to memory; to memorize; as to get a lesson; also with out; as, to get out one's Greek lesson.

It being harder with him to get one sermon by heart, than to pen twenty. --Bp. Fell.

5. To prevail on; to induce; to persuade.

Get him to say his prayers. --Shak.

6. To procure to be, or to cause to be in any state or condition; -- with a following participle.

Those things I bid you do; get them dispatched. --Shak.

7. To betake; to remove; -- in a reflexive use.

Get thee out from this land. --Gen. xxxi. 13.

He . . . got himself . . . to the strong town of Mega. --Knolles.

Note: Get, as a transitive verb, is combined with adverbs implying motion, to express the causing to, or the effecting in, the object of the verb, of the kind of motion indicated by the preposition; thus, to get in, to cause to enter, to bring under shelter; as, to get in the hay; to get out, to make come forth, to extract; to get off, to take off, to remove; to get together, to cause to come together, to collect.

To get by heart, to commit to memory.

To get the better of, To get the best of, to obtain an advantage over; to surpass; to subdue.

To get up, to cause to be established or to exit; to prepare; to arrange; to construct; to invent; as, to get up a celebration, a machine, a book, an agitation.

Syn: To obtain; gain; win; acquire. See Obtain.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Obtain

Ob*tain"\, v. i. To gain or have a firm footing; to become recognized or established; to become or be prevalent or general; as, the custom obtains of going to the seashore in summer.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Obtain

Ob*tain"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Obtained; p. pr. & vb. n. Obtaining.] [F. obtenir, L. obtinere; ob (see Ob-) + tenere to hold. See Tenable.]

1. To hold; to keep; to possess. [Obs.]

His mother, then, is mortal, but his Sire He who obtains the monarchy of heaven. --Milton.

2. To get hold of by effort; to gain possession of; to procure; to acquire, in any way.

Some pray for riches; riches they obtain. --Dryden.

By guileful fair words peace may be obtained. --Shak.

It may be that I may obtain children by her. --Gen. xvi. 2.

Syn: To attain; gain; procure; acquire; win; earn.

Usage: See Attain. -- To Obtain, Get, Gain, Earn, Acquire. The idea of getting is common to all these terms. We may, indeed, with only a slight change of sense, substitute get for either of them; as, to get or to gain a prize; to get or to obtain an employment; to get or to earn a living; to get or to acquire a language. To gain is to get by striving; and as this is often a part of our good fortune, the word gain is peculiarly applicable to whatever comes to us fortuitously. Thus, we gain a victory, we gain a cause, we gain an advantage, etc. To earn is to deserve by labor or service; as, to earn good wages; to earn a triumph. Unfortunately, one does not always get or obtain what he has earned. To obtain implies desire for possession, and some effort directed to the attainment of that which is not immediately within our reach. Whatever we thus seek and get, we obtain, whether by our own exertions or those of others; whether by good or bad means; whether permanently, or only for a time. Thus, a man obtains an employment; he obtains an answer to a letter, etc. To acquire is more limited and specific. We acquire what comes to us gradually in the regular exercise of our abilities, while we obtain what comes in any way, provided we desire it. Thus, we acquire knowledge, property, honor, reputation, etc. What we acquire becomes, to a great extent, permanently our own; as, to acquire a language; to acquire habits of industry, etc.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Obtain

Ob*tain"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Obtained; p. pr. & vb. n. Obtaining.] [F. obtenir, L. obtinere; ob (see Ob-) + tenere to hold. See Tenable.]

1. To hold; to keep; to possess. [Obs.]

His mother, then, is mortal, but his Sire He who obtains the monarchy of heaven. --Milton.

2. To get hold of by effort; to gain possession of; to procure; to acquire, in any way.

Some pray for riches; riches they obtain. --Dryden.

By guileful fair words peace may be obtained. --Shak.

It may be that I may obtain children by her. --Gen. xvi. 2.

Syn: To attain; gain; procure; acquire; win; earn.

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