obtain
/əbˈteɪn/verb
obtain is spelled O-B-T-A-I-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,612th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “attain vs obtain” about 5,400 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, obtain means “To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in obtain?
| Letters | 6: O-B-T-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 25 times per million words; the 3,612th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is obtain?
Obtain appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,612th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce obtain?
- /əbˈteɪn/
Obtain has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-obtain.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with obtain
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: abthane (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of obtain
- obtains present, singular, he/she/it
- obtaining participle, present
- obtained participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obtain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way.
obtain permission
- 2
obsoleteTo secure (that) a specific objective or state of affairs be reached.
- 3
obsoleteTo prevail, be victorious; to succeed.
- 4
obsoleteTo hold; to keep, possess or occupy.
- 5
To exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obtain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | obtenir, se procurer , réussir, avoir succès , avoir , s'établir |
| German | erlangen, erhalten , bestehen |
| Portuguese | obter , ter, possuir |
| Spanish | obtener |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does obtain come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).