(gān) v.t.
1. To obtain by or as by effort; earn.
2. To get in competition; win.
3. To reach; arrive at.
4. To get or undergo as an increase, profit, addition, etc.: to gain interest or weight.
5. To get the friendship or support of; win over.
—v.i.
6. To make progress; increase; improve.
7. To draw nearer or farther away: He gained on me steadily.
—noun
1. That which is obtained as an advantage; a desired acquisition; commercial profit.
2. Amount of increase; accession.
3. The pursuit or the acquisition of riches.
4. Electronics The ratio of output to input in a sound-transmitting circuit. See synonyms under PROFIT. [<F gagner <OF gaaignier <Gmc.] Synonyms (verb): achieve, acquire, attain, conquer, earn, flourish, get, learn, master, obtain, procure, realize, reap, win. See ACHIEVE, FLOURISH, GET, OBTAIN, REACH. Antonyms: forfeit, lose, miss, surrender.

(gān) noun
1. A groove across a board or plank; a cut to receive a timber, as a girder.
2. A beveled shoulder in a binding joist.
—v.t. To fasten with notches or gains, or cut gains in, as floor timbers. [Origin uncertain]