obtain
obtain Lexical Profile
obtain Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To get, acquire, or secure something through effort, request, or established process.
"Researchers must obtain written consent from all participants before beginning the study."
To be established, accepted, or customary (used without an object, especially of rules, practices, or conditions).
"The same strict safety standards obtain across all laboratories in the network."
Word Nuance & Usage
While most commonly used transitively to mean 'to acquire', 'obtain' also has a formal intransitive sense meaning 'to be established, accepted, or customary' (e.g., 'the conditions that obtain in the region').
• Rhymes for obtain
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French obtenir, from Latin obtinēre ('to hold on to, possess, acquire, or prevail'), formed from the prefix ob- ('to, toward') and tenēre ('to hold').