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attain - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'attain' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Attain [ n.]
- Attainment.
2 . Attain [ v. i.]
- To come or arrive, by motion, growth, bodily exertion, or efforts toward a place, object, state, etc.; to reach.
- To come or arrive, by an effort of mind.
3 . Attain [ v. t.]
- To achieve or accomplish, that is, to reach by efforts; to gain; to compass; as, to attain rest.
- To gain or obtain possession of; to acquire.
- To get at the knowledge of; to ascertain.
- To reach or come to, by progression or motion; to arrive at.
- To overtake.
- To reach in excellence or degree; to equal.

Meaning of 'attain' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . attain [ v]
Meaning (1):
- reach a destination, either real or abstract
Example in sentence:
  • I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts;
  • The water reached the doorstep;
  • We barely made it to the finish line;
  • We hit Detroit by noon
Meaning (2):
- to gain with effort
Example in sentence:
  • she achieved her goal despite setbacks
Meaning (3):
- find unexpectedly
Example in sentence:
  • she struck a goldmine;
  • the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb;
  • The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake
Meaning (4):
- reach a point in time, or a certain state or level
Example in sentence:
  • The thermometer hit 100 degrees;
  • This car can reach a speed of 140 miles per hour

Nearby Words:

attabal attacca attach attachable attache attached attaching attachment attack attackable

See 'attain' also in:

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Related Definitions

  • Status attainment
    Status attainment is the process through which people arrive at a given position within a stratified system.

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