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 Middle Englishobteinen < Middle Frenchobtenir < Latinobtinēre to take hold of, equivalent to ob-ob- + -tinēre (combining form of tenēre to hold)
Related forms
ob·tain·a·ble, adjective
ob·tain·a·bil·i·ty, noun
ob·tain·er, noun
ob·tain·ment, noun
pre·ob·tain, verb (used with object)
pre·ob·tain·a·ble, adjective
re·ob·tain, verb (used with object)
re·ob·tain·a·ble, adjective
un·ob·tain·a·ble, adjective
un·ob·tained, adjective
Synonyms 1. gain, achieve, earn, win, attain. See get.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
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).