See Also: gain(4)(dictionary)
gain(2)(dictionary)
Net after-tax gain(money)
gain(5)(dictionary)
gain-(7)(dictionary)
Gain(money)
gain(1)(dictionary)
GAIN(law)
gain(3)(dictionary)
Gain(finance)

gain(6) (iou)



gain verb2. E16.
[Old French ga(a)ignier (mod. gagner) from Proto-Romance, from Germanic verb repr. also in Old High German weidenen graze, pasture, forage, hunt, fish, from noun repr. also in Old High German weida fodder, pasture, hunting, Old English waT, Old Norse veier hunting.]
verb trans. Obtain, secure, or acquire (esp. something desired or advantageous). E16.
I. Fleming The dull, flat voice gained a trace of animation. W. Golding His ideas on Church Reform..gained him a good deal of respect. E. Gellner Psychoanalysis..can gain access to the contents of the Unconscious.
b. Get to be, to do. rare. M17.
verb trans. Obtain or receive (a sum of money) as profit or personal benefit; earn or obtain (a living). M16.
Oxford English Dictionary He gains a hundred a year by his change of employment.
b. Obtain (a quantity or amount of anything) as an addition or increment. E17.
B. Spock If he loses weight during an illness, he gains it back promptly.
verb trans. Acquire or win (land, a victory, a legal judgement, etc.) as the result of a contest or battle; be victorious in (a battle etc.). M16.
W. Cowper A meaner than himself shall gain the prize. I. Watts Either I shall gain the cause or lose it.
b. verb trans. Acquire or reclaim (land) from the sea etc. M17.
verb intrans. Make a gain or profit; advance; receive a personal benefit. L16.
Shakespeare Comedy of Errors He gains by death that hath such means to die. R. C. Hutchinson My mind began to gain in its struggle against the weight of torpor.
b. Foll. by on, upon: win favour with (now rare); get closer to (a person or thing pursued); (esp. of the sea) encroach upon. M17.
c. Improve or advance in some respect. M19.
R. W. Emerson Popular theology has gained in decorum and not in principle.
d. Be enhanced by comparison or contrast. M19.
Ld Macaulay The English Liturgy..gains by being compared..with those..Liturgies from which it is taken.
verb trans. Win over or over to one's own opinion or interests; persuade, bribe. L16.
J. H. Newman He did not try to gain him over by smooth representations. E. Bowen Ralph's charm so gained his father-in-law..that he left Mount Bruis to Ralph and Mary.
verb trans. Arrive at, reach (a desired place); rare accomplish (a certain distance). E17.
E. Waugh She..led him across the yard...They gained the verandah.
Of a clock etc.:
a. verb intrans. become fast, so as to indicate a time ahead of the correct time. M19.
M. Twain My beautiful new watch had run eighteen months without losing or gaining.
b. verb trans. run fast by (a specified period). M19.
Phrases: gain a march on: see MARCH noun3. gain ground (orig. Military), conquer territory belonging to an adversary; fig. make progress, advance, acquire ascendancy. gain ground on, gain ground upon make progress at the expense of; get closer to (someone or something pursued). gain the ear of: see EAR noun1. gain one's colours: see COLOUR noun. gain the wind of Nautical arrive on the windward side of (another vessel). gain time obtain a delay by pretexts, deliberate slowness, etc.
gainable adjective (now rare) E17.
gainer noun M16.