verb · formal
obtain
/əbˈteɪn/ob·TAIN
Band 7+task1task2speaking
to get or gain something, especially by effort, skill, or by asking
Examples
“The data were obtained from government records.”
“Students must obtain permission before conducting interviews.”
“It is difficult to obtain reliable figures for private expenditure.”
Band 8 sentence
“Reliable statistics were obtained through a combination of surveys and official registry data, allowing for robust longitudinal analysis.”
Collocations
- obtain data
- obtain permission
- obtain results
Word family
obtain verbobtainment nounobtainable adj
Common mistakes
get data from→obtain data from
obtain to→obtain (no preposition) / obtain from
Say it for a higher band
5get→6receive→7+obtain
Synonyms
get
acquire
Easily confused
acquire
“The company acquired several smaller firms last year.”
Related words
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In Sublist 3
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