n. the amount by which the revenue of a business exceeds its cost of operating

n. (art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the paint for a painting

n. a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure on which attention is focused

n. the amount of increase in signal power or voltage or current expressed as the ratio of output to input

n. the advantageous quality of being beneficial

n. a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"

n. the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface; "they dug into the earth outside the church"

n. material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use); "the land had never been plowed"; "good agricultural soil"

n. a relation that provides the foundation for something; "they were on a friendly footing"; "he worked on an interim basis"

n. the first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a surface

n. the solid part of the earth's surface; "the plane turned away from the sea and moved back over land"; "the earth shook for several minutes"; "he dropped the logs on the ground"

v. increase in; "gain momentum"; "gain nerve"

v. rise in rate or price; "The stock market gained 24 points today"

v. win something through one's efforts; "I acquired a passing knowledge of Chinese"; "Gain an understanding of international finance"

v. obtain; "derive pleasure from one's garden"

v. instruct someone in the fundamentals of a subject

v. connect to a ground; "ground the electrical connections for safety reasons"

v. increase (one's body weight); "She gained 20 pounds when she stopped exercising"

v. derive a benefit from; "She profited from his vast experience"

v. use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation"

v. fix firmly and stably; "anchor the lamppost in concrete"

v. cover with a primer; apply a primer to

v. place or put on the ground

v. confine or restrict to the ground; "After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot"

v. hit or reach the ground

v. bring to the ground; "the storm grounded the ship"

v. obtain advantages, such as points, etc.; "The home team was gaining ground"; "After defeating the Knicks, the Blazers pulled ahead of the Lakers in the battle for the number-one playoff berth in the Western Conference"

v. reach a destination, either real or abstract; "We hit Detroit by noon"; "The water reached the doorstep"; "We barely made it to the finish line"; "I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts"

v. earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages; "How much do you make a month in your new job?"; "She earns a lot in her new job"; "this merger brought in lots of money"; "He clears $5,000 each month"

adj. treated so as to have a permanently wrinkled appearance; "crushed velvet"

n. the entire amount of income before any deductions are made

n. the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)

n. the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property; "the average return was about 5%"

n. (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something; "they have interests all over the world"; "a stake in the company's future"

n. that part of the earnings of a corporation that is distributed to its shareholders; usually paid quarterly

n. something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone; "that hat is my property"; "he is a man of property";

n. money that is invested with an expectation of profit

n. (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something; "they have interests all over the world"; "a stake in the company's future"

n. something that aids or promotes well-being; "for the common good"

n. the quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable; "the Shakespearean Shylock is of dubious value in the modern world"

n. the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"

n. your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief; "the evidence that smoking causes lung cancer is very compelling"

n. a large and unbroken expanse or distance; "a stretch of highway"; "a stretch of clear water"

n. the lowest part of anything; "they started at the bottom of the hill"

n. the central part of the earth

n. an area that is approximately central within some larger region; "it is in the center of town"; "they ran forward into the heart of the struggle"; "they were in the eye of the storm"

n. the place where something begins, where it springs into being; "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance"; "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River"; "communism's Russian root"

n. supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation; "the statue stood on a marble support"

n. a statement in explanation of some action or belief

n. the act of making something different (as e.g. the size of a garment)

n. a document giving an official instruction or command

n. a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.; "he kept finding excuses to stay"; "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"; "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable"

n. formal and explicit approval; "a Democrat usually gets the union's endorsement"

n. a written assurance that some product or service will be provided or will meet certain specifications

n. a large and unbroken expanse or distance; "a stretch of highway"; "a stretch of clear water"

n. a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography); "it was a mountainous area"; "Bible country"

n. a large indefinite location on the surface of the Earth; "penguins inhabit the polar regions"

n. a region marked off for administrative or other purposes

n. (astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction

n. any spherically shaped artifact

n. the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected

v. become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain; "The problem grew too large for me"; "Her business grew fast"

v. remove (a commodity) from (a supply source); "She drew $2,000 from the account"; "The doctors drew medical supplies from the hospital's emergency bank"

v. yield as a net profit; "This sale netted me $1 million"

v. get or derive; "He drew great benefits from his membership in the association"

v. gather, as of natural products; "harvest the grapes"

v. give help or assistance; be of service; "Everyone helped out during the earthquake"; "Can you help me carry this table?"; "She never helps around the house"

v. help to some food; help with food or drink; "I served him three times, and after that he helped himself"

v. provide (usually but not necessarily food); "We serve meals for the homeless"; "She dished out the soup at 8 P.M."; "The entertainers served up a lively show"

v. land on a beach; "the ship beached near the port"

v. place restrictions on; "curtail drinking in school"

v. place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends"

v. make more specific; "qualify these remarks"

v. land on a beach; "the ship beached near the port"

v. leave stranded on a desert island without resources; "The mutinous sailors were marooned on an island"

v. reach a point in time, or a certain state or level; "The thermometer hit 100 degrees"; "This car can reach a speed of 140 miles per hour"

v. cover a certain distance or advance beyond; "The drive carried to the green"

v. take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of; "Catch the ball!"; "Grab the elevator door!"

v. move ahead; travel onward in time or space; "We proceeded towards Washington"; "She continued in the direction of the hills"; "We are moving ahead in time now"

v. of a car; "The van pulled up"

v. travel or be transported in a vehicle; "We drove to the university every morning"; "They motored to London for the theater"

v. move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town"

v. to gain with effort; "she achieved her goal despite setbacks"

v. make real or concrete; give reality or substance to; "our ideas must be substantiated into actions"

v. take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect; "His voice took on a sad tone"; "The story took a new turn"; "he adopted an air of superiority"; "She assumed strange manners"; "The gods assume human or animal form in these fables"

v. receive a specified treatment (abstract); "These aspects of civilization do not find expression or receive an interpretation"; "His movie received a good review"; "I got nothing but trouble for my good intentions"

v. attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show"; "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won"

v. poke or thrust abruptly; "he jabbed his finger into her ribs"

v. cause to move by striking; "hit a ball"

v. deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument; "He hit her hard in the face"

v. yield as a net profit; "This sale netted me $1 million"

v. remove (a commodity) from (a supply source); "She drew $2,000 from the account"; "The doctors drew medical supplies from the hospital's emergency bank"

v. get or derive; "He drew great benefits from his membership in the association"

v. enter or assume a certain state or condition; "He became annoyed when he heard the bad news"; "It must be getting more serious"; "her face went red with anger"; "She went into ecstasy"; "Get going!"

adj. out of working order (`busted' is an informal substitute for `broken'); "a broken washing machine"; "the coke machine is broken"; "the coke machine is busted"

adj. having a small piece broken off: "a chipped tooth"

adj. of paint or varnish; having the appearance of alligator hide

adj. having been divided; having the unity destroyed; "Congress...gave the impression of...a confusing sum of disconnected local forces"-Samuel Lubell; "a league of disunited nations"- E.B.White; "a fragmented coalition"; "a split group"

adj. (of solid matter) reduced to a liquid form; "add the dissolved gelatin"

adj. used of a break in esp. bone: "a broken neck"; "fractured skull"

adj. (especially of wood) cut or ripped longitudinally with the grain; "we bought split logs for the fireplace"

adj. (especially of promises or contracts) having been violated or disregarded; "broken (or unkept) promises"; "broken contracts"

n. the amount by which the cost of a business exceeds its revenue; "the company operated at a loss last year"; "the company operated in the red last year"

n. a unitary percept having structure and coherence that is the object of attention and that stands out against a ground

n. the amount by which something decreases

n. the quality of having an inferior or less favorable position

n. the disadvantage that results from losing something; "his loss of credibility led to his resignation"; "losing him is no great deprivation"

n. the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth

n. structure consisting of the part of a ship above the main deck

v. decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fall to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper"

v. fail to get or obtain; "I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad"

v. take off weight

v. stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"

v. remove or force out from a position; "The dentist dislodged the piece of food that had been stuck under my gums"; "He finally could free the legs of the earthquake victim who was buried in the rubble"

v. retreat

v. win a victory over; "You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "She conquered here fear of mice"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up"

v. fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit; "I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!"; "The company turned a loss after the first year"

v. pay out; "spend money"

v. interpret in the wrong way; "Don't misinterpret my comments as criticism"; "She misconstrued my remarks"