gain
/ɡeɪn/verb, noun, adjective, adverb
gain is spelled G-A-I-N: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 65 times per million words in written English, the 1,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, gain means “To acquire possession of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gain?
| Letters | 4: G-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 65 times per million words; the 1,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is gain?
Gain appears 65 times per million words in written English, the 1,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gain?
- /ɡeɪn/
Gain has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-gain.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gain?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as gain.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: gina, inga.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of gain
- gains present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- gaining participle, present
- gained participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- more gain comparative
- most gain superlative
- gane-
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To acquire possession of.
Looks like you’ve gained a new friend.
- 2
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
datedTo 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
To increase.
- 5
To grow more likely to catch or overtake someone.
to gain ground
- 6
To reach.
to gain the top of a mountain
- 7
To draw into any interest or party; to win to one’s side; to conciliate.
- 8
To put on weight.
I’ve been gaining.
noun
- 1
The act of gaining; acquisition.
People are more willing to take a risk to avoid a loss than to make a gain.
- 2
The thing or things gained.
- 3
The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
- 4
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.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteStraight, direct; near; short.
the gainest way
- 2
obsoleteSuitable; convenient; ready.
- 3
Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
- 4
Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.
adverb
- 1
obsoleteStraightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
- 2
Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
- 3
Tolerably; fairly.
gain quiet
preposition
- 1
obsoleteAgainst.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gagner , gain |
| German | gewinnen, erringen , Gewinnen, Zugewinnen , Gewinn, Zugewinn |
| Portuguese | ganhar , ganho |
| Spanish | ganar, recabar, granjear, conseguir, conciliar , ganancia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gain come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).