Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
gain on en · VERB
Meanings
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To encroach on.
The ocean gains on the land.
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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):
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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:
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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:
Forms