What does "gain" mean?
The act of gaining; acquisition.
Gain
/ɡeɪn/ adj, adv, name, noun, prep, verb
adj, adv, name, noun, prep, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of gaining; acquisition.
- Grammar: gain is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, prep, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: increase, profit, accept, access.
- Useful contrasts: dampening technique, economic loss, environmental damage costs.
- Usage evidence: The key question is not what can I gain but what do I have to lose.
How to use "gain"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gain" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gain" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gain" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gain" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gain" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, prep, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "increase" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gain", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of gaining; acquisition. countable, uncountable
"All running headlong after greedie ſpoiles: And more regarding gaine than victorie:"
- 2 A square or bevelled 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.
- 3 the amount of increase in signal power or voltage or current expressed as the ratio of output to input wordnet
- 4 The thing or things gained. countable, uncountable
"Everyone shall share in the gains."
- 5 the advantageous quality of being beneficial wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 The factor by which a signal is multiplied. countable, uncountable
"There follows the high and low-frequency replay equalization, which normally involves two adjustments with a further control allowing the replay gain to be set."
- 7 the amount by which the revenue of a business exceeds its cost of operating wordnet
- 8 a quantity that is added wordnet
Verb
- 1 To acquire possession of. transitive
"Looks like you’ve gained a new friend."
- 2 increase (one's body weight) wordnet
- 3 To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress. intransitive
"The sick man gains daily."
- 4 increase or develop wordnet
- 5 To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition. dated, transitive
"to gain a battle; to gain a case at law"
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 rise in rate or price wordnet
- 7 To increase. transitive
"Then they had bouts of wrestling and of cudgel play, so that every day they gained in skill and strength."
- 8 obtain advantages, such as points, etc. wordnet
- 9 To grow more likely to catch or overtake someone. intransitive, often, with-on
"to gain ground"
- 10 reach a destination, either real or abstract wordnet
- 11 To reach. transitive
"to gain the top of a mountain"
- 12 win something through one's efforts wordnet
- 13 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."
- 14 earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages wordnet
- 15 To put on weight. intransitive
"I’ve been gaining."
- 16 derive a benefit from wordnet
- 17 To run fast.
- 18 obtain wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Straight, direct; near; short. dialectal, obsolete
"the gainest way"
- 2 Suitable; convenient; ready. dialectal, obsolete
- 3 Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous. dialectal
- 4 Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap. dialectal
Adverb
- 1 Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means. dialectal, obsolete
- 2 Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately. dialectal
- 3 Tolerably; fairly. dialectal
"gain quiet"
Preposition
- 1 Against. obsolete
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
dampening techniqueeconomic lossenvironmental damage costsnegative return
Example
"The key question is not what can I gain but what do I have to lose."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gain"?
Common synonyms include: increase, profit, accept, access, accesses, accession.
How do you use "gain" in a sentence?
The key question is not what can I gain but what do I have to lose.
How do you pronounce "gain"?
Pronounced /ɡeɪn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English gayn, gain, gein (“profit, advantage”), from Old Norse gagn (“benefit, advantage, use”), from Proto-Germanic *gagną, *gaganą (“gain, profit", literally "return”), from Proto-Germanic *gagana (“back, against, in return”), a reduplication of Proto-Germanic *ga- (“with, together”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“next to, at, with, along”). Cognate with Icelandic gagn (“gain, advantage, use”), Swedish gagn (“benefit, profit”), Danish gavn (“gain, profit, success”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌴𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (gageigan, “to gain, profit”), Old Norse gegn (“ready”), dialectal Swedish gen (“useful, noteful”), Latin cum (“with”); see gain-, again, against. Compare also Middle English gaynen, geinen (“to be of use, profit, avail”), Icelandic and Swedish gagna (“to avail, help”), Danish gavne (“to benefit”). The Middle English word was reinforced by Middle French gain (“gain, profit, advancement, cultivation”), from Old French gaaing, gaaigne, gaigne, a noun derivative of gaaignier, gaigner (“to till, earn, win”), from Frankish *waiþanōn (“to pasture, graze, hunt for food”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waiþiz, *waiþō, *waiþijō (“pasture, field, hunting ground”); compare Old High German weidōn, weidanōn (“to hunt, forage for food”) (Modern German Weide (“pasture”)), Old Norse veiða (“to catch, hunt”), Old English wǣþan (“to hunt, chase, pursue”). Related to wide.
Etymology 2
From dialectal English gen, gin, short for again, agen (“against”); also Middle English gain, gayn, gein, ȝæn (“against”), from Old English gēan, geġn (“against”). More at against.
Etymology 3
From Middle English gayn, gein, geyn (“straight, direct, short, fit, good”), from Old Norse gegn (“straight, direct, short, ready, serviceable, kindly”), from gegn (“opposite, against”, adverb) (whence gagna (“to go against, meet, suit, be meet”)); see above. Adverb from Middle English gayn, gayne (“fitly, quickly”), from the adjective.
Etymology 4
Compare Welsh gan (“a mortise”).
Etymology 5
* As an English and Scottish surname of Norman origin, from the name Engaine, based on Old French engaigne (“ingenuity”), from Latin ingenium. Sometimes confused with Ingham. * As a French surname, from the verb gagner (“to obtain, gain”).