Gain in Scrabble Dictionary

Valid words made from Gain

You can make 15 words from 'gain' in our Scrabble US and Canada dictionary.

• 4 letters words from 'gain'
• 3 letters words from 'gain'
• 2 letters words from 'gain'

4 letters words from 'gain'

AGIN 5	GAIN 5
NGAI 5

3 letters words from 'gain'

AIN 3	ANI 3
GAN 4	GIN 4
ING 4	NAG 4

2 letters words from 'gain'

AG 3	AI 2
AN 2	GI 3
IN 2	NA 2

Definitions and meaning of gain

gain

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡeɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Etymology 1

From Middle English gayn, gain, gein (“profit, advantage”), from Old Norse gagn (“benefit, advantage, use”), from Proto-Germanic *gagną, *gaganą (“gain, profit", literally "return”), from Proto-Germanic *gagana (“back, against, in return”), a reduplication of Proto-Germanic *ga- (“with, together”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“next to, at, with, along”). Cognate with Icelandic gagn (“gain, advantage, use”), Swedish gagn (“benefit, profit”), Danish gavn (“gain, profit, success”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌴𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (gageigan, “to gain, profit”), Old Norse gegn (“ready”), dialectal Swedish gen (“useful, noteful”), Latin cum (“with”); see gain-, again, against. Compare also Middle English gaynen, geinen (“to be of use, profit, avail”), Icelandic and Swedish gagna (“to avail, help”), Danish gavne (“to benefit”).

The Middle English word was reinforced by Middle French gain (“gain, profit, advancement, cultivation”), from Old French gaaing, gaaigne, gaigne, a noun derivative of gaaignier (“to till, earn, win”), from Frankish *waidanjan (“to pasture, graze, hunt for food”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waiþiz, *waiþō, *waiþijō (“pasture, field, hunting ground”); compare Old High German weidōn, weidanōn (“to hunt, forage for food”) (Modern German Weide (“pasture”)), Old Norse veiða (“to catch, hunt”), Old English wǣþan (“to hunt, chase, pursue”). Related to wathe, wide.

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To acquire possession of.

   Looks like you've gained a new friend.
2. (intransitive) To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress.

   The sick man gains daily.
3. (transitive, dated) To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition.

   to gain a battle; to gain a case at law

4. (transitive) To increase.
   • 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V

     Then they had bouts of wrestling and of cudgel play, so that every day they gained in skill and strength.

5. (intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.

   I'm gaining (on you).

   gain ground

6. (transitive) To reach.

   to gain the top of a mountain

   • 1907, Jack London, The Iron Heel:

     Ernest laughed harshly and savagely when he had gained the street.

7. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.

   • If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

   • to gratify the queen, and gain the court

8. (intransitive) To put on weight.

   I've been gaining.

9. (of a clock or watch) To run fast.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

gain (countable and uncountable, plural gains)

1. The act of gaining; acquisition.
   • 1855, Alfred Tennyson, Maude

     the lust of gain, in the spirit of Cain

2. What is gained.
3. (electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
   • 1987, John Borwick, Sound recording practice (page 238)

     There follows the high and low-frequency replay equalization, which normally involves two adjustments with a further control allowing the replay gain to be set.

Antonyms

• loss

Derived terms

• autogain
• gainful
• gainsome
• gain-ground (game)

Translations

Etymology 2

From dialectal English gen, gin, short for again, agen (“against”); also Middle English gain, gayn, gein, ȝæn (“against”), from Old English gēan, geġn (“against”). More at against.

Preposition

gain

1. (obsolete) Against.

Derived terms

• gainful

Etymology 3

From Middle English gayn, gein, geyn (“straight, direct, short, fit, good”), from Old Norse gegn (“straight, direct, short, ready, serviceable, kindly”), from gegn (“opposite, against”, adverb) (whence gagna (“to go against, meet, suit, be meet”)); see below at gain. Adverb from Middle English gayn, gayne (“fitly, quickly”), from the adjective.

Adjective

gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

1. (obsolete) Straight, direct; near; short.

   the gainest way

2. (obsolete) Suitable; convenient; ready.
3. (dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
4. (dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.

Translations

Derived terms

• gainly
• gainsome

Adverb

gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

1. (obsolete) Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
2. (dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
3. (dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.

   gain quiet (= fairly/pretty quiet)

Etymology 4

Compare Welsh gan (“a mortise”).

Noun

gain (plural gains)

1. (architecture) A square or bevelled notch cut out of a girder, binding joist, or other timber which supports a floor beam, so as to receive the end of the floor beam.

Anagrams

• Agin, Agni, Angi, Gina, NGIA, Nagi, Ngai, a- -ing, ag'in, agin, gina, inga

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Basque

Noun

gain

1. summit

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French

Etymology

From Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, from the verb gaaignier (“to earn, gain, seize, conquer by force”), from Frankish *waidanjan (“to graze, forage, hunt”), from Proto-Germanic *waiþō (“a hunt, pasture, food”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- (“to seek, crave, hunt”). Cognate with Old High German weidanōn (“to hunt, chase”), German Weide (“pasture, pasturage”). Compare also related Old French gain (“harvest time, revival”), from Frankish *waida (“income, food, fodder”) (whence French regain), from the same Germanic source.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛ̃/

Noun

gain m (plural gains)

1. (usually in the plural) winnings, earnings, takings
2. (finance) gain, yield

Further reading

• “gain” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Louisiana Creole French

Etymology

From French gagner (“to gain”), compare Haitian Creole gen.

Verb

gain

1. to have

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Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old Norse gegn.

Adjective

gain

1. Alternative form of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse gagn.

Noun

gain

1. Alternative form of gayn (“gain, reward, advantage”)

Etymology 3

From Old Norse gegna.

Verb

gain

1. Alternative form of gaynen

Etymology 4

From Old English ġeġn, gæġn, from Proto-Germanic *gagin; also influenced by Old Norse gegn, from the same Proto-Germanic form. Doublet of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”).

Alternative forms

• gayn, gein, ȝæn, ȝein, ȝean, gayne, gen, gan, gaine, geyn

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛi̯n/, /ɡeːn/, /jɛi̯n/, /jeːn/

Preposition

gain

2. against, next to, touching
3. (figuratively) against, opposed to, counter to, opposing (usually used in religious and spiritual contexts)
4. towards, to, nearing
5. (rare) on, on top of
6. (rare) facing, pointed towards

Descendants

• English: gain (obsolete)
• Scots: gain, gin

References

• “yẹ̄n, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adverb

gain

1. back (to), returning (to)

References

• “yẹ̄n, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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Middle French

Etymology

Old French gaaing.

Noun

gain m (plural gains)

1. income (financial)

Descendants

• French: gain

References

• gain on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡai̯n/

Adjective

gain

1. Soft mutation of cain.

Mutation

Source: wiktionary.org

• to acquire.
  (source: Collins Scrabble Dictionary)

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