What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Choose vs Obtain - What's the difference?

choose | obtain |

As verbs the difference between choose and obtain

is that choose is to pick; to make the choice of; to select while obtain is to get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way.

As a conjunction choose

is (mathematics) the binomial coefficient of the previous and following number.

As a noun choose

is (dialectal|or|obsolete) the act of choosing; selection.

choose

English

(Choice)

Alternative forms

* chuse

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) .

Verb

  • To pick; to make the choice of; to select.
  • :
  • *
  • *:The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.
  • To elect.
  • :
  • To decide to act in a certain way.
  • :
  • To wish; to desire; to prefer.
  • *(Oliver Goldsmith) (1730-1774)
  • *:The landlady now returned to know if we did not choose a more genteel apartment.
    • Usage notes
    * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See
    Related terms
    * choice * choosey * chosen

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • (mathematics) The binomial coefficient of the previous and following number.
    • The number of distinct subsets of size ''k'' from a set of size ''n'' is \tbinom nk or "''n'' choose ''k''".
    See also
    * (projectlink)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (chooses)
  • (dialectal, or, obsolete) The act of choosing; selection.
  • (dialectal, or, obsolete) The power, right, or privilege of choosing; election.
  • (dialectal, or, obsolete) Scope for choice.

    • References

    * * *

    Anagrams

    * English irregular verbs 1000 English basic words

    obtain

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way.
  • * 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Luke XVIII:
    • And a certayne ruler axed him: sayinge: Goode Master: what ought I to do, to obtaine eternall lyfe?
  • * 1814 , (Jane Austen), (Mansfield Park) :
    • Julia was quite as eager for novelty and pleasure as Maria, though she might not have struggled through so much to obtain them, and could better bear a subordinate situation.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
    • , volume=189, issue=2, page=48, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained .}}
  • (obsolete) To secure (that) a specific objective or state of affairs be reached.
  • * 1722 , (Daniel Defoe), (Colonel Jack) :
    • he was condemned to die for the felony, and being so well known for an old offender, had certainly died, but the merchant, upon his earnest application, had obtained that he should be transported, on condition that he restored all the rest of his bills, which he had done accordingly.
  • (obsolete) To prevail, be victorious; to succeed.
  • * 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , III.2:
    • “O daughter deare!” (said she) “despeire no whit; / For never sore but might a salve obtain [...].”
  • * 1701 , (Jonathan Swift), Contests and Dissentions in Athens and Rome :
    • This, though it failed at present, yet afterward obtained , and was a mighty step to the ruin of the commonwealth.
  • (obsolete) To hold; to keep, possess or occupy.
  • * 1671 , (John Milton), (Paradise Regained) , Book I:
    • His mother then is mortal, but his Sire / He who obtains the monarchy of Heav'n, / And what will he not do to advance his Son?
  • To exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force.
  • * 1908 , (Jack London), (The Iron Heel) , ,
    • Even though the Pervaise confession had never come to light, no reasonable doubt could obtain ; for the act in question was on a par with countless other acts committed by the oligarchs, and, before them, by the capitalists.
  • * 1992 , (Neal Stephenson), (Snow Crash) , Bantam Spectra, p. 460,
    • But the hostage situation no longer obtains , and so Uncle Enzo feels it important to stop Rife now,