Word adjective
gotten
adj.
US /ˈɡɑtən/ UK /ɡˈɒtən/ got·ten
Definition
- 01 C1 Advanced
describes something that has been gained or earned.
obtained or acquired; almost exclusively used in compound adjectives like 'ill-gotten'.
Simple“The criminals had to give back all their ill-gotten money.”
In context“The investigation focused on the recovery of ill-gotten assets hidden in offshore accounts to avoid domestic taxation.”
UsageUsually appears as part of a compound adjective followed by a noun.
Teacher's tipThis sense is rarely used alone; it is most common in the fixed idiom 'ill-gotten gains'.
Don't confuse
gotten vs got — Gotten is the standard past participle in American English for obtaining or becoming, while British English uses got for all past participle functions.
Etymology
Morphologically got + -en.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Common
Updated