n. That which is acquired or comes as a benefit; profit; advantage: opposed to loss.n. The act of gaining; acquisition; accession; addition: as, a clear gain of so much.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.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.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.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.To obtain the friendship or interest of; win over; conciliate.To reach by effort; get to; arrive at: as, to gain a good harbor, or the mountain-top.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.To avail; be of use to.To profit; make gain; get advantage; benefit.To make progress; advance; increase; improve; grow: as, to gain in strength, happiness, health, endurance, etc.; the patient gains daily.To accrue; be added.To advance nearer, as in a race; gain ground on; lessen the distance that separates: as, the horse gains on his competitor.To prevail against or have the advantage over.To obtain influence with; advance in the affections or good graces of.Straight; direct; hence, near; short: as, the gainest way.Suitable; convenient; ready.In provincial English use: Easy; tolerable.Handy; dexterous.Honest; respectable.Moderate; cheap.Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way.Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.Tolerably; fairly: as, gain quiet (pretty quiet).Against.n. A mortise.n. In building, a beveled shoulder upon a binding-joist, intended to strengthen a tenon.n. In carpentry, a groove in which is slid a shelf or any piece similarly fitted.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.To mortise.n. A spear or javelin.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.
