obtain

ob·tain

 (əb-tān′, ŏb-)

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.

1. To be in existence, in effect, or customary: "standards, proprieties that no longer obtain" (Meg Greenfield).

2. Archaic To succeed.

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

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ob·tain′a·ble adj.

ob·tain′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

obtain

(əbˈteɪn)

vb

1. (tr) to gain possession of; acquire; get

2. (intr) to be customary, valid, or accepted: a new law obtains in this case.

3. (tr) archaic to arrive at

4. (intr) archaic to win a victory; succeed

[C15: via Old French from Latin obtinēre to take hold of, from ob- (intensive) + tenēre to hold]

obˈtainable adj

obˌtainaˈbility n

obˈtainer n

obˈtainment n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ob•tain

(əbˈteɪn)
v.t.

1. to come into possession of; get, acquire, or procure, as through effort or request.

2. Obs. to attain or reach.

v.i.

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

4. Archaic. to succeed.

[1375–1425; < Middle French obtenir « Latin obtinēre to take hold of =ob- ob- + -tinēre, comb. form of tenere to hold]

ob•tain′a•ble, adj.

ob•tain`a•bil′i•ty, n.

ob•tain′er, n.

ob•tain′ment, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

obtain

1. 'obtain'

If you obtain something that you want or need, you get it.

I made another attempt to obtain employment.

He had obtained the papers during his visits to Berlin.

2. 'get'

'Obtain' is a formal word. You don't usually use it in conversation. Instead you use get.

I got a job at the factory.

He had been having trouble getting a hotel room.

In writing, obtain is often used in the passive.

All the above items can be obtained from most supermarkets.

You need to know where this kind of information can be obtained.

Be Careful!
You don't usually use 'get' in the passive. Don't say, for example, 'Maps can be got from the Tourist Office'. Say 'Maps can be obtained from the Tourist Office' or, in conversation, 'You can get maps from the Tourist Office'.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

obtain

Past participle: obtained
Gerund: obtaining

Imperative

obtain

obtain

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	obtain - come into possession of; "How did you obtain the visa?" carry - secure the passage or adoption (of bills and motions); "The motion carried easily" dig up, excavate, turn up - find by digging in the ground; "I dug up an old box in the garden" wring from, extort - get or cause to become in a difficult or laborious manner kite - get credit or money by using a bad check; "The businessman kited millions of dollars" acquire, get - come into the possession of something concrete or abstract; "She got a lot of paintings from her uncle"; "They acquired a new pet"; "Get your results the next day"; "Get permission to take a few days off from work" source - get (a product) from another country or business; "She sourced a supply of carpet"; "They are sourcing from smaller companies" procure, secure - get by special effort; "He procured extra cigarettes even though they were rationed" extract - get despite difficulties or obstacles; "I extracted a promise from the Dean for two new positions" take out - obtain by legal or official process; "take out a license"; "take out a patent" get in, get into - secure a place in a college, university, etc. eke out, squeeze out - obtain with difficulty; "He eked out some information from the archives" bum, cadge, grub, mooch, sponge - ask for and get free; be a parasite gain, derive - obtain; "derive pleasure from one's garden" shop - do one's shopping; "She goes shopping every Friday" snag - get by acting quickly and smartly; "snag a bargain" grab - obtain illegally or unscrupulously; "Grab power"
	2.	obtain - 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" incur, receive, get, find change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" take - ascertain or determine by measuring, computing or take a reading from a dial; "take a pulse"; "A reading was taken of the earth's tremors" acquire, get - come into the possession of something concrete or abstract; "She got a lot of paintings from her uncle"; "They acquired a new pet"; "Get your results the next day"; "Get permission to take a few days off from work"
	3.	obtain - be valid, applicable, or true; "This theory still holds" prevail, hold exist, be - have an existence, be extant; "Is there a God?"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

obtain

verb

1. get, gain, acquire, land, net, pick up, bag, secure, get hold of, come by, procure, get your hands on, score (slang), come into possession of Evans was trying to obtain a false passport.
get lose, give up, hand over, surrender, relinquish, renounce, forfeit, forgo

2. achieve, get, gain, realize, accomplish, attain The perfect body has always been difficult to obtain.

3. (Formal) prevail, hold, stand, exist, be the case, abound, predominate, be in force, be current, be prevalent The longer this situation obtains, the bigger the problems will be.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

obtain

verb

To come into possession of:

acquire, come by, gain, get, procure, secure, win.

Informal: land, pick up.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَحْصُلُ عَلَىيَنال، يَحْصَل عَلى

obdržetzískat

opnå

erhaltenerlangenerschleichenerzielen

προμηθεύομαι

obtenersacaradquirirconseguir

hankkiapitää hallussaan

obtenirs'établiracquériravoirgagner

nabaviti

kapmegkap

afla

ottenereprevalereriuscirestabilirsiavere

手に入れる持つ持っている取得する

획득하다

gaunamasįsigyjamas

iegūt, dabūt

verkrijgen

oppnåskaffe seg

uzyskać

obter

avea

приобрестиприобретатьдобыватьполучать

dobiti

erhållaskaffa

ได้รับ

elde etmek

giành được

获得

obtain

[əbˈteɪn]

A. VT → obtener, conseguir; (= acquire) → adquirir
his uncle obtained the job for him → su tío le consiguió el puesto
oil can be obtained from coal → se puede extraer aceite del carbón

B. VI (frm) [price, law] → regir; [theory] → prevalecer, predominar
the price which obtains now → el precio que rige ahora
in the conditions then obtaining → en las condiciones que imperaban entonces
that did not obtain in my day → en mis tiempos eso no era así

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

obtain

[əbˈteɪn]

vt → obtenir

vi [situation] → avoir cours

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

obtain

vt → erhalten, bekommen; result, votes also → erzielen; knowledge → erwerben; to obtain something through hard work → etw durch harte Arbeit erreichen; possession → sich (dat) → etw mühsam erarbeiten; to obtain a divorce → die Scheidung ausgesprochen bekommen; to obtain an injunction → eine einstweilige Verfügung erteilt bekommen; to obtain something for somebody → jdm etw beschaffen or verschaffen; they obtained the release of the hostages → sie erreichten die Freilassung der Geiseln

vi (form) → gelten; (rules also) → in Kraft sein; (customs) → bestehen, herrschen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

obtain

[əbˈteɪn]

1. vt (gen) → ottenere
to obtain sth (for o.s.) (goods) → procurarsi qc
to obtain sth for sb → procurare qc a qn

2. vi (frm) (circumstances, custom) → esistere

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

obtain

(əbˈtein) verb

to get; to become the possessor of. He obtained a large sum of money by buying and selling houses. verkry, bekom يَنال، يَحْصَل عَلى получавам obter obdržet erlangen opnå αποκτώ, εξασφαλίζωobtener, conseguir saama بدست آوردن saada obtenir לְהָשִׂיג प्राप्त करना, अस्तित्व में होना dobiti, osvojiti (meg)kap mendapatkan afla ottenere 得る 획득하다 gauti, įsigyti iegūt, dabūt memperolehi verkrijgenfå, skaffe seg, oppnåuzyskać لاس ته راوړل obter a obţine получать získať pridobiti (si) dobiti [lyckas] få, skaffa sig ได้รับ elde etmek 獲得 одержувати; діставати حاصل کرنا đạt được 获得

obˈtainable adjective

(negative unobtainable). verkrygbaar, bekombaar مُمْكِن الحُصول عَلَيْه، مُتَوَفِّر който може да се добие obtenível dosažitelný erhältlich opnåelig διαθέσιμος, που μπορεί να αποκτηθεί obtenible saavutatav حصول پذیر saatavissa qu'on peut obtenir שֶׂנִיתָן לְהָשִׂיגוֹ प्राप्य, सुलभ dostižan, nabavljiv megkapható bisa diperoleh fáanlegur ottenibile 手に入る 획득할 수 있는 gaunamas, įsigyjamas iegūstams; dabūjams dapat diperoleh verkrijgbaaroppnåelig, som kan fås/skaffes do nabycia لاسته راوړونكى obtenível care se poate obţine достижимый, доступный dosiahnuteľný dosegljiv raspoloživ som kan fås, anskaffbar, tillgänglig ที่สามารถได้มา elde edilebilir 可獲得的 доступний, досяжний قابل حصول có thể đạt được 可获得的

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

obtain

→ يَحْصُلُ عَلَى obdržet opnå erhalten προμηθεύομαι obtener hankkia obtenir nabaviti ottenere 手に入れる 획득하다 verkrijgen oppnå uzyskać obter получать skaffa ได้รับ elde etmek giành được 获得

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

obtain

v. obtener, adquirir, conseguir.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012