gain ground
Idioms-
Advance, make progress; also, win acceptance. For example, The new conservation policy is gaining ground among the voters . This expression alludes to a military advance in which an army literally takes territory from the enemy. Its figurative use dates from about 1800. For an antonym, see lose ground .
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. Encroach on, advance at the expense of. For example, Door-to-door canvassing helped them gain ground on the opposition .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the one part of the market that has cooled are so-called momentum stocks, whose precise definitions vary but basically are bets that fast-rising stocks will continue to gain ground.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
In foreign exchange markets, the Japanese yen continued to gain ground against the dollar, bolstered by expectations of faster interest-rate increases by the Bank of Japan and the potential for investment inflows into Japanese assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
“You’re going against the best team in baseball right now, and you want to gain ground and try to get one of the first two spots,” Miguel Rojas said before the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Sánchez is expected to gain ground as ballots from rural areas are tallied.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
But she always claimed she had done whatever it was she'd done to gain ground for us all.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.