attain : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: attain	by the DICT Development Group
4 results for attain
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
attain v to gain with effort; "she achieved her goal despite setbacks" Synonym(s): achieve, accomplish, attain, reach reach a point in time, or a certain state or level; "The thermometer hit 100 degrees"; "This car can reach a speed of 140 miles per hour" Synonym(s): reach, hit, attain find unexpectedly; "the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb"; "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake" Synonym(s): fall upon, strike, come upon, light upon, chance upon, come across, chance on, happen upon, attain, discover reach a destination, either real or abstract; "We hit Detroit by noon"; "The water reached the doorstep"; "We barely made it to the finish line"; "I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts" Synonym(s): reach, make, attain, hit, arrive at, gain
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Attain \Attain"\, v. i. 1. To come or arrive, by motion, growth, bodily exertion, or efforts toward a place, object, state, etc.; to reach. If by any means they might attain* to Phenice. --Acts xxvii. 12. Nor nearer might the dogs attain. --Sir W. Scott. To see your trees attain to the dignity of timber. --Cowper. Few boroughs had as yet attained to power such as this. --J. R. Green. 2. To come or arrive, by an effort of mind. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I can not attain unto it. --Ps. cxxxix. 6.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Attain \Attain"\ ([acr]tt[amac]n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Attained} (-t[amac]nd"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Attaining}.] [Of. atteinen, atteignen, atainen, OF. ateindre, ataindre, F. atteindre, fr. L. attingere; ad + tangere to touch, reach. See {Tangent}, and cf. {Attinge}, {Attaint}.] 1. To achieve or accomplish, that is, to reach by efforts; to gain; to compass; as, to attain rest. Is he wise who hopes to attain the end without the means? --Abp. Tillotson. 2. To gain or obtain possession of; to acquire. [Obs. with a material object.] --Chaucer. 3. To get at the knowledge of; to ascertain. [Obs.] Not well attaining his meaning. --Fuller. 4. To reach or come to, by progression or motion; to arrive at. [bd]Canaan he now attains.[b8] --Milton. 5. To overtake. [Obs.] --Bacon. 6. To reach in excellence or degree; to equal. Syn: To {Attain}, {Obtain}, {Procure}. Usage: Attain always implies an effort toward an object. Hence it is not synonymous with obtain and procure, which do not necessarily imply such effort or motion. We procure or obtain a thing by purchase or loan, and we obtain by inheritance, but we do not attain it by such means.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Attain \At*tain"\, n. Attainment. [Obs.]