Word.ws English Dictionary

gains on

gains on is the third-person singular simple present indicative of gain on.

Meaning of gain 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

Questions about gains on

What is gains on the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Gains on is the third-person singular simple present indicative of gain on.

Words near gains on in the dictionary

  1. gains
  2. gains ground
  3. gains momentum
  4. gains of function
  5. gains of functions
  6. gains on
  7. gains one's spurs
  8. gains over
  9. gains steam
  10. gains time
  11. gains traction

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gains on (page history and authors); gain on (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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