GAIN (5)

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.