gain

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To come into possession or use of; acquire: gained a small fortune in real estate; gained vital information about the enemy's plans.
2. v. To attain in competition or struggle; win: gained a decisive victory; gained control of the company.
3. v. To obtain through effort or merit; achieve: gain recognition; gain a hearing for the proposal.
4. v. To secure as profit or reward; earn: gain a living; gain extra credits in school.
5. v. To manage to achieve an increase of: a movement that gained strength; gained wisdom with age.
6. v. To increase by (a specific amount): gained 15 pounds; the market gained 30 points.
7. v. To come to; reach: gained the top of the mountain. See Synonyms at reach.
8. v. To become fast by (a specified amount of time). Used of a timepiece: My watch gains four minutes a day.
9. v. To increase; grow: gained in experience and maturity; a painting that gained in value.
10. v. To become better; improve: gaining in health.
11. v. To obtain a profit or advantage; benefit: stood to gain politically by his opponent's blunder.
12. v. To close a gap; get closer: The runners in the back gained steadily on the leader.
13. v. To increase a lead.
14. v. To put on weight: I began to gain when I went off my diet.
15. v. To operate or run fast. Used of a timepiece.
16. n. Something gained or acquired: territorial gains.
17. n. Progress; advancement: The country made economic gains under the new government.
18. n. The act of acquiring; attainment.
19. n. An increase in amount or degree: a gain in operating income.
20. n. Electronics An increase in signal power, voltage, or current by an amplifier, expressed as the ratio of output to input. Also called amplification.
21. idiom. gain ground To progress, advance, or increase: Stock prices gained ground yesterday.
22. idiom. gain time To run too fast. Used of a timepiece.
23. idiom. gain time To delay or prolong something until a desired event occurs.
24. n. A notch or mortise cut into a board to receive another part.
25. v. To cut out a gain in.
26. v. To join by or fit into a gain.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. That which is acquired or comes as a benefit; profit; advantage: opposed to loss.
2. n. The act of gaining; acquisition; accession; addition: as, a clear gain of so much.
3. n. Increment of amount or degree; access; increase; used absolutely, comparative excess or overplus in rate, as of movement: as, a gradual gain in speed or in weight; a gain in extent of view or range of thought. Synonyms Lucre, emolument, benefit.
4. To obtain by effort or striving; succeed in acquiring or procuring; attain to; get: as, to gain favor or power; to gain a livelihood by hard work; to gain time for study.
5. Specifically — To obtain as material profit or advantage; get possession of in return for effort or outlay: as, to gain a fortune by manufactures or by speculation.
6. To obtain by competition; acquire by success or superiority; win from another or others: as, to gain a prize, a victory, or a battle; to gain a cause in law.
7. To obtain the friendship or interest of; win over; conciliate.
8. To reach by effort; get to; arrive at: as, to gain a good harbor, or the mountain-top.
9. To bring or undergo an accession of; cause the acquisition of; make an increase in any respect to the amount of: as, his misfortune gained him much sympathy; the clock gains five minutes in a day; he has gained ten pounds in weight.
10. To avail; be of use to.
11. To profit; make gain; get advantage; benefit.
12. To make progress; advance; increase; improve; grow: as, to gain in strength, happiness, health, endurance, etc.; the patient gains daily.
13. To accrue; be added.
14. To advance nearer, as in a race; gain ground on; lessen the distance that separates: as, the horse gains on his competitor.
15. To prevail against or have the advantage over.
16. To obtain influence with; advance in the affections or good graces of.
17. Straight; direct; hence, near; short: as, the gainest way.
18. Suitable; convenient; ready.
19. In provincial English use: Easy; tolerable.
20. Handy; dexterous.
21. Honest; respectable.
22. Moderate; cheap.
23. Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way.
24. Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
25. Tolerably; fairly: as, gain quiet (pretty quiet).
26. Against.
27. n. A mortise.
28. n. In building, a beveled shoulder upon a binding-joist, intended to strengthen a tenon.
29. n. In carpentry, a groove in which is slid a shelf or any piece similarly fitted.
30. n. In coal-mining, a transverse channel or cutting made in the sides of an underground roadway for the insertion of a dam or close permanent stopping, in order to prevent gas from escaping, or air from entering.
31. To mortise.
32. n. A spear or javelin.
33. n. A prefix of Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning ‘again, back,’ or ‘against,’ formerly in common use, but now obsolete except in a few words, as gainsay.

Wiktionary

1. prep. obsolete Against.
2. adj. obsolete Straight, direct; near; short.
3. adj. obsolete Suitable; convenient; ready.
4. adj. dialectal Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
5. adj. dialectal Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.
6. adv. obsolete Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
7. adv. dialectal Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
8. adv. dialectal Tolerably; fairly.
9. n. The act of gaining.
10. n. What one gains, as a return on investment or dividend.
11. n. electronics The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
12. v. transitive To acquire possession of what one did not have before.
13. v. transitive To increase.
14. v. intransitive To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.
15. v. transitive To reach.
16. v. intransitive To put on weight.
17. v. To run fast.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (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.
2. adj. Obs. or Prov. Eng. Convenient; suitable; direct; near; handy; dexterous; easy; profitable; cheap; respectable.
3. n. That which is gained, obtained, or acquired, as increase, profit, advantage, or benefit; -- opposed to loss.
4. n. The obtaining or amassing of profit or valuable possessions; acquisition; accumulation.
5. v. To get, as profit or advantage; to obtain or acquire by effort or labor.
6. v. To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition
7. v. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.
8. v. To reach; to attain to; to arrive at
9. v. Obs. or Ironical To get, incur, or receive, as loss, harm, or damage.
10. v. To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. derive a benefit from
2. v. increase or develop
3. n. the amount of increase in signal power or voltage or current expressed as the ratio of output to input
4. v. obtain advantages, such as points, etc.
5. n. the amount by which the revenue of a business exceeds its cost of operating
6. n. a quantity that is added
7. v. reach a destination, either real or abstract
8. v. rise in rate or price
9. v. increase (one's body weight)
10. v. earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
11. v. win something through one's efforts
12. v. obtain.
13. n. the advantageous quality of being beneficial