verb · academic
obtain
/əbˈteɪn/ob·TAIN
Band 7+task2task1speaking
to get or gain something, often by effort or request
Examples
“Applicants must obtain permission before carrying out the experiment.”
“We obtained the data from a national survey.”
“Official records were obtained to verify the claim.”
Band 8 sentence
“Prior to publication, the researchers obtained ethical approval from the university review board.”
Collocations
- obtain permission
- obtain data
- obtain from
Word family
obtain verbobtainment noun
Common mistakes
get (in formal writing) instead of obtain→obtain
obtain from (omitting preposition) 'We obtained data the survey.'→We obtained data from the survey.
Say it for a higher band
5get→6acquire→7+obtain
Synonyms
acquire
get
Easily confused
acquire
“She acquired a taste for classical music during college.”
get
“I get permission from the professor.”
Related words
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In Sublist 1
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