Word.ws English Dictionary

gains time

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

Meaning of gain time

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To cause a delay by a circuitous mode of procedure in order to obtain more time than is available.
  2. To make up time lost; of a clock or watch, to run fast.
    • My opportunity to see what one of these engines could do came when we left Ballymoney on the train from Derry eight minutes late: No. 53 and her crew tore the schedule to shreds and reached Belfast six minutes early, having gained time on every section.1959 June, R. A. Young, “A Railway Holiday in Ireland—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 420
    Antonyms:
    lose time

See all 3 meanings of gain time

Questions about gains time

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

Words near gains time in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gains time (page history and authors); gain time (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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