A person may obtain a situation by the intercession of friends, he procures a dinner by paying for it. Attain is a lofty word, pointing to some high o more..A person may obtain a situation by the intercession of friends, he procures a dinner by paying for it. Attain is a lofty word, pointing to some high or desirable result; a man attains the mountain summit, he attains honor or learning as the result of strenuous and earnest labor. Even that usage of attain which has been thought to refer to mere progress of time carries the thought of a result desired; as, to attain to old age; the man desires to live to a good old age; we should not speak of his attaining his dotage. One may attain an object that will prove not worth his labor, but what he achieves is in itself great and splendid; as, the Greeks at Marathon achieved a glorious victory. Compare DO; GET; REACH.(noun)