gaining on

Verb

gain on (third-person singular simple present gains on, present participle gaining on, simple past and past participle gained on)

1. To encroach on.
   • The ocean gains on the land.
2. To obtain influence with.
   • My gentleness and good behaviour had gained so far on the emperor and his court[…] that I began to conceive hopes of getting my liberty in a short time.1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput)
3. To win ground upon; to move faster than, as in a race or contest.
   • Soon, the van lurched into a high gear and started gaining on Zoe, who was running as fast as her little legs would carry her.2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN
4. 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.1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC