obtain
Part of speech: verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: human-sciences
philosophy
sciences
Etymology: From Middle English obteinen, from Anglo-Norman obtenir, optiner et al., and Middle French obtenir, from Latin obtinēre (“to gain, achieve, succeed, possess”), from ob- + tenēre (“to hold”).
Inflected forms:
form: obtains
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: obtaining
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: obtained
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: obtained
pos: verb
tags: past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: obtain
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: obtain
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: obtained
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: obtain
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: obtainest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: obtained
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: obtainedst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: obtains
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: obtaineth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: obtained
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: obtain
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: obtained
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: obtain
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: obtained
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: obtain
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: obtaining
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: obtained
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: obtein
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: obteyn
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: obtain permission
obtain information
difficult to obtain
Applicants must obtain a permit before construction.
We obtained accurate data from the survey.
And a certayne ruler axed him: sayinge: Goode Master: what ought I to do, to obtaine eternall lyfe?
[…] Julia was quite as eager for novelty and pleasure as Maria, though she might not have struggled through so much to obtain them, and could better bear a subordinate situation.
But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained.
gloss: To secure (that) a specific objective or state of affairs be reached.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
obsolete
examples: he was condemned to die for the felony, and being so well known for an old offender, had certainly died, but the merchant, upon his earnest application, had obtained that he should be transported, on condition that he restored all the rest of his bills, which he had done accordingly.
gloss: To prevail, be victorious; to succeed.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
obsolete
examples: “O daughter deare!” (said she) “despeire no whit; / For never sore but might a salve obtain [...].”
This, though it failed at present, yet afterward obtained, and was a mighty step to the ruin of the commonwealth.
gloss: To hold; to keep, possess or occupy.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: His mother then is mortal, but his Sire / He who obtains the monarchy of Heav'n, / And what will he not do to advance his Son?
gloss: To exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force.
pos: verb
tags: especially
intransitive
examples: Even though the Pervaise confession had never come to light, no reasonable doubt could obtain; for the act in question […] was on a par with countless other acts committed by the oligarchs, and, before them, by the capitalists.
In connection with the various courses of practical instruction, the companies maintain signalling schools fitted with standard railway equipment in which the staff can be given instructions under conditions exactly similar to those which obtain in signal boxes.
But the hostage situation no longer obtains, and so Uncle Enzo feels it important to stop Rife now, […]
Derived words: obtainability
obtainable
obtainance
obtainer
obtainment
preobtain
reobtain
unobtainability
unobtained
Translations: