obtain

verb

əb-ˈtān How to pronounce obtain (audio)
Definition of obtainnext
as in to earn
to receive as return for effort after years of proving herself, she obtained recognition as a serious journalist

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of obtain On Friday, prosecutors announced that 30-year-old Ochoa had been convicted of 18 counts of obtaining money by fraud with an allegation that the total fraud exceeded $500,000. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026 As part of the deal, Kingsbarn would purchase land of equal value elsewhere in California and hand it over to the park service, according to documents obtained by NOTUS, which first reported the move. — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026 White attended the Indiana Fever’s game against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse wearing a long blonde wig, as seen in photos and video obtained by OutKick. — Jackson Thompson , Patricia Babcock McGraw Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026 In photos obtained by Us Weekly, the football star could be seeing flashing his extra chunky gold wedding band on his left hand. — Meg Walters, InStyle, 29 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for obtain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obtain
  1. earn
  2. gain
  3. win
  4. reap
  5. garner
  6. get
  7. make
  8. attain
Verb
  • Some soldiers distinguished themselves by helping to render emergency trauma response and first aid to civilians, earning individual service commendations, according to the Arkansas National Guard.
    — Neal Earley, Arkansas Online, 29 Aug. 2026
  • On Monday, those five writers — also DSA-LA members — panned the idea of an endorsement, saying Raman hasn’t earned it.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of earn
Verb
  • Oswego finished seven of its 11 drives by scoring points and gained 483 yards.
    — Jerry Birchfield, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Iceland, which gained independence from Denmark in 1944, has a proud history of independence, of not allowing itself to be pushed around by bigger and richer European nations.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of gain
Verb
  • All the drama from last week’s showdown with the season-21 designers is resolved by season 22 winning the unconventional-materials challenge.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Chidgasornpongse won best director in the Asian New Talent competition at the Shanghai International Film Festival, where Sompop Songkampol also took best actor.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of win
Verb
  • And now, the prequel films get to reap the benefits of the chemistry that Banks and Harrelson cultivated.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Binders upon binders of policies on people like him that Wall Street was waiting on to die to reap their returns.
    — Vito Emanuel, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of reap
Verb
  • Her cycle of resurrections, the highs and lows, didn’t seem to change her much over the years, even as the highs garnered her over half a billion dollars.
    — Shima Oliaee, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Trio would garner Parton her first, and so far only, Grammy Award nomination for album of the year.
    — Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of garner
Verb
  • Police had initially tried to pull over Shelton's vehicle, a 2006 Honda Civic, near Rodney Parham Road and Mississippi Street, but the vehicle fled through several streets and got away, Little Rock police said in a news release.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The service got its name from the original Mechanical Turk, an 18th century chess-playing robot that was actually controlled by a human chess master.
    — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of get
Verb
  • The win made Okamoto the first Japanese actress to receive Cannes’ best actress honor.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Apart from deepening its presence in existing markets, IHH is also considering expanding into adjacent countries, though Prem admits that no concrete plans have yet been made.
    — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of make
Verb
  • The Tennessee singer-songwriter, actor, and philanthropist hailed from a vanishing class, a 20th-century monocultural phenomenon who attained a household-name status that never lost its luster.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
  • But the White House cut its offices and weakened its ability to follow up with cases, as well as slashed funding to research on disparities that people of color face in getting diagnosed and attaining resources for disabilities.
    — Claire Sibonney, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of attain

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obstructs
obtain
obtainability
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Cite this Entry

“Obtain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtain. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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