The AI-powered English dictionary
third-person singular simple present gains on, present participle gaining on, simple past and past participle gained on
To encroach on. examples
To obtain influence with. quotations examples
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, […], part I (A Voyage to Lilliput)
To win ground upon; to move faster than, as in a race or contest. examples
To get the better of; to have the advantage of. quotations examples
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, […]