From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgaingain1 /ɡeɪn/ ●●● S3 W1 verb 1 get something [transitive]GET to obtain or achieve something you want or needgain control/power Radical left-wing parties gained control of local authorities. After gaining independence in 1957, it was renamed ‘Ghana’.gain a degree/qualification etc He gained a doctorate in Chemical Engineering.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say get rather than gain:She got a degree in English.2 get gradually [intransitive, transitive]GETMORE THAN BEFORE to gradually get more and more of a quality, feeling etc, especially a useful or valuable one She has gained a reputation as a good communicator. Many of his ideas have gained popular support. an opportunity to gain experience in a work environment The youngsters gradually gain confidence in their abilities.gain in The sport has gained in popularity in recent years.► see thesaurus at get3 advantage [intransitive, transitive]ADVANTAGEGET to get an advantage from a situation, opportunity, or eventgain (something) from (doing) something There is much to be gained from seeking expert advice early. an attempt to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals Who really stands to gain (=is likely to get an advantage) from these tax cuts? There’s nothing to be gained (=it will not help you) by losing your temper.4 increaseINCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT [transitive] to increase in weight, speed, height, or value Carrie’s gained a lot of weight recently. The dollar has gained 8% against the yen.5 → gain access/entry/admittance etc (to something)6 → gain an understanding/insight/impression etc7 → gain ground8 → gain time9 clock [intransitive, transitive]TMTIME/WHAT TIME IS IT if a clock or watch gains, or if it gains time, it goes too fast OPP lose10 arrive [transitive] literaryARRIVE to reach a place after a lot of effort or difficulty The swimmer finally gained the river bank. → nothing ventured, nothing gained at venture2(3)COLLOCATIONS – Meanings 1 & 2nounsgain controlThe government of mainland China gained control of the island in 1683.gain powerMany women wanted to gain power in a male-dominated world.gain independenceJamaica has had this flag since 1962, when it gained independence from Britain.gain a reputationHe had gained a reputation as a crook.gain notoriety (=become famous, especially for doing something bad)He gained notoriety as the author of a controversial novel.gain supportThe proposal failed to gain support.gain popularityGovernments gain popularity by cutting taxes.gain acceptanceThe theory has gradually gained acceptance among scientists.gain credibility (=start to be believed or trusted, or start to be thought of as good)Screen actors feel that they gain credibility when they perform on stage.gain experienceIn her first job, she gained experience as a programme manager.gain knowledgeKnowledge gained from the research will be used directly to help patients.gain confidenceThe managers were gaining confidence in their ability to take calculated risks.gain strengthHe is beginning to gain strength again after his illness.gain an understanding (=get knowledge based on learning and experience)Drama is one of the key ways in which children can gain an understanding of themselves and of others.gain an insight (into something) (=get a chance to understand more about something)You can gain an insight into horses’ feelings by the physical signs they give out.gain momentum (=keep increasing)In the 1850s and 1860s, the British colonisation of India gained momentum.adverbsquickly/rapidly gain somethingAdam quickly gained the respect of the soldiers under his command.steadily gain somethingThe king was steadily gaining more support.gradually gain somethingHe is gradually gaining confidence in his own abilities. → gain on somebody/something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
gain• The Bloomberg Minnesota Index gained 1. 04 to 131. 11.• But she never uses her personality to gain a career advantage.• His ideas are gaining a lot of support.• In the trite words of many a wedding speech, they have gained a son or daughter.• Detroit gained a spot in the finals with a 4-0 victory over Toronto.• Royal Insurance Holdings continued to ignore the drip of the John Spalvin share sales, gaining at one time 20p.• It took her a long time to gain enough confidence to speak in public.• The four men told the inquiry they did not know why the plane failed to gain height after it took off.• Seeing this, finally suspecting, the auditor was able to gain her confidence and locate the despair charges.• Labour gained one seat but lost two in the by-election following appointment of aldermen.• The train rolled forward, gaining speed rapidly.• Hawaii gained statehood in 1959.• Perhaps it would be best to defeat the Foundation and gain the power Wienis spoke of.• She stayed in the job for give years, gaining valuable experience.• A new-born baby will gain weight at around one ounce per day.gain control/power• Tobaccocontrol advocates agree, saying their lack of vigilance in decades past had allowed the Tobacco Institute to gain power and influence.• Gradually they gained control in the air and, in February 1943, captured Guadalcanal.• The attack recovered the lost guns and gained control of a good part of the plateau.• Fortunately, the investment banks have managed to gain control of the dividends of only big and new companies.• I started to return well and I gained control of the match.• Another reason is perhaps sheer incredulity that anyone can gain control over the systems of language and communication operating as a whole.• But even in the outposts where the Vietcong had temporarily gained control, villagers had in fact rallied to support the South.• In such situations the most effective managerial strategy may be for the ReD unit to try to gain power within the organization.gained ... reputation• He gained a reputation as a practical joker, yet at the same time could be quite morose.• Joe quickly gained a reputation as a Washington host of verve and style.• Vindicated by events, she gained a reputation for courage and devotion to principle.• The authority has gained a reputation for innovative housing schemes.• Taylor has gained a reputation for making quick and profitable business decisions.• Consequently pentecostals have gained a reputation for sobriety, punctuality, and honesty.• A number of athletes have gained reputations for this uncanny ability.• The club gained a reputation for undertaking strenuous walks frequently covering seventy miles between Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening.• Before this season, the Vikings had gained a reputation of collapsing against inferior opponents. gain (something) from (doing) something• Many adult children gain great happiness from caring for a much-loved parent in the closing years of their life.• He or she must gain approval from others, outside formal authority channels, to implement a staff project.• Most leaders, however, mistakenly assume that hierarchical authority is the only way to gain performance commitments from people.• I feel sick thinking of my baby lying next to, gaining comfort from, the artificial dead.• He also knew that this was Lennie's chance to gain some respect from the other men, especially Curley.• He became close friends with the Pipers and gained great benefits from their taste, experience and enthusiasm.• Culture gained immense advantage from this linguistic asset.• In experiences of communal disaster or of shared pain we can gain support from those who suffer with us.gained ... weight• I needed constant reassurance that I had not gained weight.• Of the eight whose measurements did change, three had fatter thighs, partly because they gained weight.• He'd gained a little weight, and his shoulders seemed squarer, his expression cool and serious.• They gained weight, and may have stayed at that weight for some time.• His devotees, a pale and sickly-looking lot, swore that they had gained weight and strength on the bland diet.• Sixteen people lost an insignificant amount, and nine others gained weight or stayed the same.• Their appetites improved; they became cheerful and they gained weight remarkably quickly.gaingain2 ●●○ W3 noun 1 advantage [countable]IMPROVE an advantage or improvement, especially one achieved by planning or effort The party made considerable gains at local elections.gain in substantial gains in efficiencygain from the potential gains from improved marketinggain to/for There are obvious gains for the student.2 increase [countable, uncountable]INCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT an increase in the amount or level of something OPP lossgain in a gain in weekly outputgain of Retail sales showed a gain of 0.4%. The Democratic Party needed a net gain of only 20 votes. Eating too many fatty foods could cause weight gain.3 profit [uncountable]PROFIT financial profit, especially when this seems to be the only thing someone is interested in OPP lossfinancial/economic/capital etc gain They are seeking to realize the maximum financial gain.gain of a pre-tax gain of $20 millionfor gain Such research should not be for personal gain. → capital gains4 → ill-gotten gainsExamples from the Corpus
gain• The share price ended the year with a 60% gain.• The Nikkei average experienced a gain of 140.19 points on Friday.• He hopes the economic reforms will bring the country gain.• If private hospitals are operating purely for gain, how can we be sure they have the patient's best interests at heart?• He suggested that people's interests are best served by pursuing personal gains.• The strategic and other planning considerations relate to the volume and timing of development and also more recent matters such as planning gain.• The morning's gains in US stocks fell sharply.• Many stocks showed gains in heavy trading.• Since World War II, there have been significant gains in medical technology.• Women have made economic, legal, and social gains.• Unfortunately, many companies are only concerned about short-term gains.• Companies just don't invest enough -- short-term gain is all they think about.• Bass shift is already in, so all we need to look at are the gains and tones etc.• White emphasizes the gains to be made from interaction be-tween each approach.• Those gains were made by the bottom 90 percent of households.• Signal voltage gain is always accompanied by greater signal current attenuation and viceversa with a transformer.• Older children should be on a low-fat diet to prevent weight gain.made ... gains• The Republicans also made huge gains in Congress.• All sectors of the economy made modest job gains except agriculture, which lost 6,100 jobs.• Netscape held the early lead in the category, but Microsoft has made considerable gains more recently.• Democrats have made gains by promoting a 90-cent-an-hour minimum wage increase.• Both Central and Carlton shares have made substantial gains following today's announcement.• Despite this prudent, but politically damaging, platform, the party made gains, mainly in urban areas.• High technology stocks fared unexpectedly well, however, with most of them suffering only moderate losses while some made strong gains.net gain• By 1989, there were 3,000 -a net gain of 1,200 in office functions, retailing and small firms in nursery workshops.• Between 1989 and 1991, large companies with 500 or more employees contributed a net gain of only 122,000 jobs.• Florida had a net gain of 127,180, followed by California with about 61,000.• In the 1990s, the South had a net gain of 326,000 adult blacks from the rest of the country.• Society would make a net gain by producing more films.• But the Democratic Party needs a net gain of only 20 seats.• A closed system is a system in which there is no net gain or loss of matter in the system.• You pay taxes on your share of the net gains achieved by the fund manager.financial/economic/capital etc gain• By eliminating this technique to raise cash without realizing a capital gain, the Treasury proposes to force investors to pay up.• During the year the bank actually had 12. 18 billion pesetas in capital gains from its fixed-income portfolio.• This legislation exempts international trading companies from withholding, income, capital gains and share transfer taxes.• And mutual funds often realize capital gains early in the year.• They may exchange short term financial gain for longterm strategic disadvantage.• It would not be considered a serious loss by the company and the financial gain to the robbers was not necessarily substantial.• In 1990, however, these capital gains went into reverse.From Longman Business Dictionarygaingain1 /geɪn/ verb1[transitive] to get or achieve something important or valuable, usually by working very hardWe hope togain a largershare of the local market.BP America shared the knowledge gained from the disaster with other oil companies.2[intransitive, transitive] to gradually get more of a useful or valuable quality, skill etcDonald gained a lot of usefulexperience when he was working for a merchant bank.Employees will gain in knowledge and confidence by making full use of the training opportunities.3[intransitive, transitive]FINANCE to increase in value or amountStandard & Poor’s 500-stock index gained slightly, closing up 3.75 points.Production in both China and India gained while domestic consumption slowed.For the week, the Dow industrials gained 39.85 points.4gain groundFINANCE if a currency, share, or financial market gains ground, it increases in valueThe stock market gained ground after two days of losses.gain ground againstThe dollar gained ground against (=compared to) foreign currencies.5gain ground to gradually become more popular, successful etcThe retailer has gained ground, with sales up 12.2%.gain ground against/onAluminium has been gaining ground against (=compared to) more traditional metals.GM’s trucks are gaining ground on Ford’s F series. 6[intransitive, transitive]COMMERCE to get an advantage from a situation, opportunity, or eventSome countries depreciated their currencies so as to gain a competitive advantage over their trading rivals.gain (something) from somethingMalaysia has not always gained greatly from the sales of assets such as shares in its airline.People with higher incomes clearly gained more from the tax cuts.The management group owns about 18% of the stock and would stand to gain millions of dollars if the company were sold.7gain a footholdCOMMERCE to reach a position from which you can start to make progress and achieve your aimsEuropean television groups will be ready to pay substantial amounts to gain a foothold in the UK market.8gain currency to become more popularThe new idea was gaining currency.9gain access to somethingCOMMERCE if a country or company gains access to a place, it is able to sell its products there for the first timeThe government’s aim is to help US companies gain access to foreign markets.US computer makers have accused the Japanese of selling machines at steep discounts to gain access to markets where they are not competitive.10gain access to something to manage to use something, especially something that is difficult to obtainThe program allows a hacker to secretly gain access to computer systems. 11gain approval if a plan, proposal etc gains approval, it is officially acceptedThe company did not gain approval from the planning commission for the new building.12gain in popularity become more popularInsurance-funded plans are gaining in popularity because they are not subject to tax.→ See Verb tablegaingain2 noun1[countable] an increase in the amount or level of somethingThe supermarket chain’s share price ended the year with a near 60% gain.The Nikkei average ended with a gain of 140.19 points at 35,522.99.gain ingains in consumer spendinga 50 point gain in the Dow Jones industrial average on the New York Stock Exchange2[uncountable]FINANCE financial profitDevelopers cut down the forestsfor economic gain.The senator denied the charge that he was using his office for personal gain.3[countable] an advantage or improvementThe new machinery has produced bigefficiency gains.4ill-gotten gains [plural] money or an advantage obtained dishonestlyThe police now have been given more powers to crack down on drug dealers and seize their ill-gotten gains.Origin gain1 (1400-1500) French gagner, from Old French gaaignier “to prepare the ground for growing crops, earn, gain” 