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 (gnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Gaining.] [From
gain, n. but. prob. influenced by F. gagner to earn, gain, OF.
gaaignier to cultivate, OHG. weidinn, weidinen to pasture, hunt, fr.
weida pasturage, G. weide, akin to Icel. veir hunting, AS. wu, 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.
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.
Gain"a*ble (?), a. [CF. F. gagnable. See Gain, v. t.] Capable of being
obtained or reached. Sherwood.
Gain"age (?, 48), n. [OF. gaignage pasturage, crop, F. gaignage
pasturage. See Gain, v. t.] (O. Eng. Law) (a) The horses, oxen, plows,
wains or wagons and implements for carrying on tillage. (b) The profit
made by tillage; also, the land itself. Bouvier.
Gain"er (?), n. One who gains. Shak.
Gain"ful (?), a. Profitable; advantageous; lucrative. "A gainful
speculation." Macaulay. -- Gain"ful*ly, adv. -- Gain"ful*ness, n.