Meaning of obtain in English

obtain

verb

formal

/əbˈteɪn/ us

/əbˈteɪn/

obtain verb (GET)

Add to word list Add to word list

B2 [ T ]

to get something, especially by asking for it, buying it, working for it, or producing it from something else:

to obtain permission

First editions of these books are now almost impossible to obtain.

In the second experiment they obtained a very clear result.

be obtained by Sugar is obtained by crushing and processing sugar cane.

Synonyms

acquire
get (OBTAIN)
get hold of informal

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to receive or be given something

getI got a new bike for my birthday.
receiveYou will receive your tickets by email.
obtainAfter many years of trying, she finally obtained Brazilian citizenship.
gainYou will improve at the job as you gain experience.
earnEventually, you will earn the dog's trust.
achieveShe achieved top marks in the physics exam.

See more results »

More examplesFewer examples

It's hard to obtain truly independent financial advice.
The education director is persevering in his attempt to obtain additional funding for the school.
The money was dishonestly obtained.
The documents are the first substantive information obtained by the investigators.
He was found guilty of obtaining money by deception.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Getting, receiving and accepting

See more results »

obtain verb (EXIST)

[ I not continuous ]

(especially of a situation) to exist:

Conditions of extreme poverty now obtain in many parts of the country.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Existing and being

See more results »

(Definition of obtain from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

obtain | American Dictionary

obtain

verb [ T ]

/əbˈteɪn, ɑb-/

Add to word list Add to word list

to get something, esp. by a planned effort:

to obtain knowledge

She was finally able to obtain legal possession of the house.

obtainable

adjective [ not gradable ] us

/əbˈteɪ·nə·bəl, ɑb-/

That drug is now obtainable without a prescription.

(Definition of obtain from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of obtain

obtain

Other examples can be obtained by using the above preservation properties.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

When family members joined the interviews, the same explanations were given and the same consent obtained.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Note that h2 is obtained by solving eb2 h2 !

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Two potential interviewees declined to be interviewed and obtaining interviews was unsuccessful with three others.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A better response is obtained when the initial letter is signed by the patient's own doctor.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A case observation is presented to illustrate the depth of understanding of the screening processes that can be obtained using this approach.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The inspection devices can rotate by being driven by a motor, and the position information can be obtained with a photoelectric switch and coder wheel.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The collision module has the role of obtaining the possible pairs of bodies that are colliding.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The reference positions and velocities were obtained from the movement of human walking.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Through repetitive training, the controller obtains knowledge about the system and the tracking length is elongated gradually.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Thus, continuous gain functions of the system states are obtained.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The results shown below are obtained after eliminating the 1% of extreme cases.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The solution is obtained using a fast algorithm for minimal distance calculation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In this way a larger value of dmin is obtained which facilitates the initial orientation maneuvers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Additionally, the values of the performance index obtained are usually smaller than those determined by the penalty function method.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of obtain

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of obtain?

Translations of obtain

in Chinese (Traditional)

得到, 得到，獲得, 存在…

Meaning of obtain in English

obtain verb (GET)

obtain verb (EXIST)

obtain | American Dictionary

obtainable

Examples of obtain

Translations of obtain

Browse

Learn more with +Plus

Learn more with +Plus