gain

noun

\ ˈgān

Definition of gain

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : resources or advantage acquired or increased : profit made substantial gains last year

2 : the act or process of acquiring something

3a : an increase in amount, magnitude, or degree a gain in efficiency

b : the increase (as of voltage or signal intensity) caused by an amplifier especially : the ratio of output over input

c : the signal-gathering ability of an antenna

gain

verb

gained; gaining; gains

Definition of gain (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to acquire or get possession of usually by industry, merit, or craft gain an advantage he stood to gain a fortune

b : to win in competition or conflict the troops gained enemy territory

c(1) : to arrive at : reach, attain gained the river that night

(2) : traverse, cover gained 10 yards on the play

d : to get by a natural development or process gain strength

e : to establish a specific relationship with gain a friend

2a : to make an increase of (a specified amount) gained three percent in the past month

b : to increase in (a particular quality) gain momentum

3 : to win to one's side : persuade gain adherents to a cause

4 : to cause to be obtained or given : attract gain attention

5 of a timepiece : to run fast by the amount of the clock gains a minute a day

intransitive verb

1 : to get advantage : profit hoped to gain by the deal

2a : increase the day was gaining in warmth

b : to increase in weight

c : to improve in health or ability

3 of a timepiece : to run fast

4 : to get closer to something pursued —usually used with on or upon

gain ground

: to make progress

Other Words from gain Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about gain

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Examples of gain in a Sentence

Noun

The medication can cause nausea and weight gain. attributed her recent weight gain to the medication she was taking

Verb

They stand to gain an advantage over their competitors by getting an early start. What do you hope to gain from this? gain control of the territory Investigators are trying to gain access to the group's financial records. We were unable to gain admission to the club. We need to gain a better understanding of the problem. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain. He first gained attention as a young writer. Her theories are slowly gaining acceptance. I took the job to gain experience.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The Wisconsin and Michigan actions have prompted criticism that the GOP Legislatures are ignoring the gains made by Democrats in the November election. — David Eggert, The Seattle Times, "Michigan GOP advances bill to make ballot drives harder," 12 Dec. 2018 And this is the part of the A12X for which Apple has claimed the biggest gains by far. — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, "Apple walks Ars through the iPad Pro’s A12X system on a chip," 7 Nov. 2018 Still, momentous gains were made, among them the crumbling of the assumption that women don’t perform as well as men in difficult elections. — Jill Filipovic, Marie Claire, "Women Won Big Last Night. Now It's Time to Get to Work," 7 Nov. 2018 Altogether, the area has more than 200 miles of runs, and one pass gains skiers and boarders access to all of them. — Heidi Mitchell, Town & Country, "Skiing St. Moritz in Style," 1 Nov. 2018 At the same time, the average prices of existing homes rose in all four counties in the first half of 2018, with the biggest percentage gain — 14.5 percent — in Washington County. — Paul Gores, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "June home sales down, prices up in metro Milwaukee as supply lags demand," 11 July 2018 Red Robin’s jump in satisfaction was the biggest gain of any restaurant in the survey, fueled by a focus on menu improvements and online orders. — NBC News, "Customer satisfaction with restaurants is up. Thank the robots.," 10 July 2018 That remained below the roughly 4 percent annual gains that are typical of a healthy economy. — Christopher Rugaber, BostonGlobe.com, "American workers’ willingness to quit — often for better pay — hits a 17-year high," 10 July 2018 Despite the gains made earlier in the decade in the Civil Rights Movement, racial unrest bubbled in urban centers. — Marissa Vonesh, Smithsonian, "How the Fourth of July Was Celebrated (and Protested) in 1968," 3 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The political will to fight climate change gained considerable momentum. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "Climate and energy news in 2018 actually wasn’t all bad," 1 Jan. 2019 Unemployment remains remarkably low, and the U.S. is still gaining jobs. — Jeff Andrews, Curbed, "Housing market signaled potential future downturn in 2018," 21 Dec. 2018 The Bauhaus school was founded in Weimar in 1919 and gained prominence for its non-traditional approach: students were often left to their own devices, with a focus on hands-on workshops and self-expression. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "Touring Germany’s Most Festive Christmas Markets," 18 Dec. 2018 Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof, a legal pimp who gained notoriety for an HBO series about his business, has died, Fox News has learned. — Fox News, "Dennis Hof, Nevada brothel owner, dead at 72," 16 Oct. 2018 In the end, after gaining momentum by feeling herself in the mirror in a hip-hugging olive green slip, Smith does get into that getaway car, in a va-va-voom messy updo no less, those piece-y onyx strands framing her forward-looking gaze. — Rachel Hahn, Vogue, "Jorja Smith Brings Sexy Back in Her New Music Video, “The One"," 8 Dec. 2018 The company’s most notable achievement is in gaining its level of success without being propped up by any of the country’s internet mega-giants like Tencent, Alibaba, or Baidu. — Sam Byford, The Verge, "How China’s Bytedance became the world’s most valuable startup," 30 Nov. 2018 Initiatives to reduce consumption are gaining momentum, from Kenya's ban on plastic bags to California's legislation against plastic straws. — Tyler Wetherall, Condé Nast Traveler, "The All-Women Sailing Crew Trying to Save the Ocean of Plastic," 27 Nov. 2018 Bed linens in fabrics and blends that are environmentally friendly are gaining popularity, and are becoming easier to find. — Hannah Morrill, ELLE Decor, "The Best Luxury Sheets For the Perfect Night's Sleep," 15 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for gain

Noun

Middle English gain, borrowed from Anglo-French gain, gaigne, gaaing "tillage, winning, profit," derivative of gaainer, gaaigner "to till, secure (profit, advantage)" — more at gain entry 2

Note: See note at gain entry 2.

Verb

Middle English gaynen "to prevail against," borrowed from Anglo-French gaainer, gaaigner "to cultivate, till, secure (profit, advantage), capture, acquire, be victorious," going back to Old Low Franconian *waiđanjan, of uncertain meaning and origin

Note: The presumed Old Low Franconian verb *waiđanjan has no exact counterpart in neighboring Germanic languages, and given the diverse meanings of the French verb, hypotheses that explain it are all somewhat tenuous. The base has traditionally been taken to be that of Old High German weida "pasture," Old Saxon weiđa, from which a verb meaning "to pasture" was derived, which then hypothetically developed the sense "to cultivate, till" and further derived senses. Alternatively, the verb could be linked to Old High German weidenōn "to hunt," a derivative of weida "hunt, quantity of game taken, catch" (corresponding to Old English wāth "hunt, chase, wandering," Old Norse veiðr "catch, haul of fish"). In Middle English both the noun and verb are presumed to have crossed with borrowings of Old Norse gagn "advantage, victory." Early Modern English gain has acquired senses directly from Middle French and French gagner.

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Dictionary Entries near gain

Statistics for gain

Last Updated

8 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for gain

The first known use of gain was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for gain

gain

noun

Financial Definition of gain

What It Is

A gain, also called a capital gain, is an increase in the value of an investment. It is the difference between the purchase price (the basis) and the sale price of an asset. Thus the formula for gain is:

Sale Price - Purchase Price = Gain

Note that this formula assumes the sale price is higher than the purchase price. If an investor sells an asset for less than he or she paid, this is called a loss.

How It Works

Let's assume you purchase 100 shares of Company XYZ for $1 per share. After three months, the share price increases to $5. This means the value of the investment has increased from $100 to $500, for a gain of $400.

Why It Matters

Gains are taxable, but only when they are realized. That is, they only become taxable when the asset is sold. Until that point, any gains are considered unrealized and are not taxable. The IRS considers nearly every asset owned by individuals and companies as capital assets and thus subject to capital gains taxes.

Taxpayers report capital gains on IRS Schedule D, but these gains are subject to different tax rates depending on whether they are short-term or long-term (and in some cases depending on the type of asset). In the example above, if you sold the Company XYZ shares after a year, the IRS would consider your $400 profit a long-term capital gain and tax it at one of several flat rates. However, if you sold the Company XYZ shares after just three months, the IRS would consider your $400 profit a short-term capital gain and tax that $400 at your ordinary income tax rate, which varies by several factors, including which state you live in, and is generally higher than the long-term capital gains tax rate. This system encourages long-term investing, but there are still many logical reasons an investor might want to sell an asset before a year has passed.

Some retirement vehicles, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, allow investors to buy and sell assets within these vehicles without becoming subject to capital gains tax. This tax deferral effectively gives investors a larger balance on which to compound interest or returns, with capital gains tax applying only when the investor begins to make withdrawals.

An investor's capital losses sometimes will offset all or a portion of his or her capital gains, lowering the investor's tax bill. There is a limit, however, to how much the investor can offset. Note also that the IRS does not treat the distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, like those from a mutual fund, for example, as capital gains. The IRS treats those as ordinary dividends.

Source: Investing Answers

gain

noun

English Language Learners Definition of gain

(Entry 1 of 2)

: something wanted or valued that is gotten : something that is gained; especially : money gotten through some activity or process

: something that is helpful : advantage or benefit

: an increase in amount, size, or number

gain

verb

English Language Learners Definition of gain (Entry 2 of 2)

: to get (something wanted or valued)

: to win (something) in a competition, battle, etc.

: to gradually get (something) or more of (something) as time passes

See the full definition for gain in the English Language Learners Dictionary

gain

noun

\ ˈgān

Kids Definition of gain

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : something valuable or desirable that is obtained or acquired : profit financial gains

2 : an increase in amount, size, or degree

gain

verb

gained; gaining

Kids Definition of gain (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to get or win often by effort You gain knowledge by study. He exercised to gain strength.

2 : to get or acquire in a natural or gradual way He gained ten pounds.

3 : to increase in The car gained speed.

4 : to get to : reach The swimmer gained the shore.

5 : to get an advantage : profit We all gained from the lesson.

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gain

intransitive verb

\ ˈgān

Medical Definition of gain

: to improve in health the patient gained daily

gain

noun

Legal Definition of gain

1 : an increase in value, capital, or amount — compare loss

— capital gain

: a gain realized on the sale or exchange of a capital asset (as a stock or real estate)

— casualty gain

: a gain realized by an insured because property insurance benefits paid for a loss from a casualty or theft are greater than the adjusted value of the insured asset

— long-term capital gain

: a capital gain realized on the sale or exchange of an asset held for more than a specified period (as a year)

— ordinary gain

: a gain from the exchange or sale of an asset that is not capital

— short-term capital gain

: a capital gain realized on the sale or exchange of an asset held for less than a specified period (as a year) that is treated as ordinary income under federal income tax laws

2 plural, in the civil law of Louisiana : a class of community property that reflects the increase in property value contributed by the common skill or labor of the spouses