Definitions for: Gain


[n] the amount of increase in signal power or voltage or current expressed as the ratio of output to input
[n] the advantageous quality of being beneficial
[n] the amount by which the revenue of a business exceeds its cost of operating
[n] a quantity that is added; "there was an addition to property taxes this year"; "they recorded the cattle's gain in weight over a period of weeks"
[v] increase (one's body weight)
[v] increase in; "gain momentum"; "gain nerve"
[v] rise in rate or price; "The stock market gained 24 points today"
[v] obtain advantages, such as points, etc.; "The home team was gaining ground"; "After defeating the Knicks, the Blazers pulled ahead of the Lakers in the battle for the number-one playoff berth in the Western Conference"
[v] reach a destination, either real or abstract; "We hit Detroit by noon"; "The water reached the doorstep"; "We barely made the plane"; "I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts"
[v] win something through one's efforts
[v] earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages; "How much do you make a month in your new job?"; "She earns a lot in her new job"; "this merger brought in lots of money"; "He clears $5,000 each month"
[v] derive benefit from
[v] obtain; "derive pleasure from one's garden"



Webster (1913) Definition: Gain (g[=a]n), n. [Cf. W. gan a mortise.] (Arch.)
A square or beveled notch cut out of a girder, binding joist,
or other timber which supports a floor beam, so as to receive
the end of the floor beam.


Gain, a. [OE. gein, gain, good, near, quick; cf. Icel.
gegn ready, serviceable, and gegn, adv., against, opposite.
Cf. Ahain.]
Convenient; suitable; direct; near; handy; dexterous; easy;
profitable; cheap; respectable. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]


Gain (g[=a]n), n. [OE. gain, gein, ga[yogh]hen, gain,
advantage, Icel. gagn; akin to Sw. gagn, Dan. gavn, cf. Goth.
gageigan to gain. The word was prob. influenced by F. gain
gain, OF. gaain. Cf. Gain, v. t.]
1. That which is gained, obtained, or acquired, as increase,
profit, advantage, or benefit; -- opposed to loss.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted
loss for Christ. --Phil. iii.
7.

Godliness with contentment is great gain. --1 Tim.
vi. 6.

Every one shall share in the gains. --Shak.

2. The obtaining or amassing of profit or valuable
possessions; acquisition; accumulation. ``The lust of
gain.'' --Tennyson.


Gain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gained (g[=a]nd); p. pr. &
vb. n. Gaining.] [From gain, n. but. prob. influenced by F.
gagner to earn, gain, OF. gaaignier to cultivate, OHG.
weidin[=o]n, weidinen to pasture, hunt, fr. weida pasturage,
G. weide, akin to Icel. vei[eth]r hunting, AS. w[=a][eth]u,
cf. L. venari to hunt, E. venison. See Gain, n., profit.]
1. To get, as profit or advantage; to obtain or acquire by
effort or labor; as, to gain a good living.

What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul? --Matt. xvi.
26.

To gain dominion, or to keep it gained. --Milton.

For fame with toil we gain, but lose with ease.
--Pope.

2. To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to
obtain by competition; as, to gain a battle; to gain a
case at law; to gain a prize.

3. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side;
to conciliate.

If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
--Matt. xviii.
15.

To gratify the queen, and gained the court.
--Dryden.

4. To reach; to attain to; to arrive at; as, to gain the top
of a mountain; to gain a good harbor.

Forded Usk and gained the wood. --Tennyson.

5. To get, incur, or receive, as loss, harm, or damage. [Obs.
or Ironical]

Ye should . . . not have loosed from Crete, and to
have gained this harm and loss. --Acts xxvii.
21.

Gained day, the calendar day gained in sailing eastward
around the earth.

To gain ground, to make progress; to advance in any
undertaking; to prevail; to acquire strength or extent.

To gain over, to draw to one's party or interest; to win
over.

To gain the wind (Naut.), to reach the windward side of
another ship.

Syn: To obtain; acquire; get; procure; win; earn; attain;
achieve.

Usage: See Obtain. -- To Gain, Win. Gain implies only
that we get something by exertion; win, that we do it
in competition with others. A person gains knowledge,
or gains a prize, simply by striving for it; he wins a
victory, or wins a prize, by taking it in a struggle
with others.


Gain, v. i.
To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to
grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to
make progress; as, the sick man gains daily.

Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by
extortion. --Ezek. xxii.
12.

Gaining twist, in rifled firearms, a twist of the grooves,
which increases regularly from the breech to the muzzle.

To gain on or upon.
(a) To encroach on; as, the ocean gains on the land.
(b) To obtain influence with.
(c) To win ground upon; to move faster than, as in a race or
contest.
(d) To get the better of; to have the advantage of.

The English have not only gained upon the Venetians
in the Levant, but have their cloth in Venice
itself. --Addison.

My good behavior had so far gained on the emperor,
that I began to conceive hopes of liberty. --Swift.

Synonyms: addition, advance, advance, amplification, arrive at, attain, benefit, bring in, clear, derive, earn, gain ground, get ahead, hit, increase, make, make, make headway, profit, pull ahead, pull in, put on, reach, realise, realize, take in, win, win

Antonyms: drop off, fall back, fall behind, lose, lose, lose weight, loss, melt off, recede, reduce, slenderize, slim, slim down, thin

See Also: access, account, accretion, acquire, advantage, amount, amount of money, bear, bottom out, breast, bring home, capitalise, capitalize, cash in on, catch up, change state, climb, come through, cozen, culminate, draw, eke out, fill out, financial gain, find, get, get at, get through, go, gross, ground, hit, increase, increase, increment, indefinite quantity, locomote, loop gain, mount, move, obtain, pack on, pay, peak, profit, profitability, profitableness, profiteer, pyramid, rack up, rake in, rake off, reach a peak, reap, rise, round, run aground, scale, score, shovel in, squeeze out, steal, sum, sum of money, surmount, take advantage, take home, tally, travel, turn, turn a profit, vantage, wax, yield

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