Gains

Gains is a plural noun and verb form that generally refers to increases, improvements, or positive outcomes across different domains. In common usage, people speak of gains from effort, training, or investment, as well as gains in performance or value.

In fitness and bodybuilding, gains describe increases in muscle mass, strength, or endurance resulting from training and nutrition. Progress is typically tracked by changes in body composition, one-repetition maximums, or performance benchmarks. The term sometimes distinguishes rapid early progress as “newbie gains.”

In economics and finance, gains denote increases in wealth or asset value. Capital gains are profits realized from selling an asset at a higher price than the purchase price. Gains can be realized or unrealized, and may be subject to taxes or timing considerations.

In engineering and signal processing, gain is the amplification factor of an amplifier or controller, defined as the ratio of output to input. It can be expressed as a unitless multiplier or in decibels. Excessive gain can cause instability or excessive noise amplification.

In information theory and machine learning, information gain measures the reduction of uncertainty when choosing a feature to split data, guiding decision-tree construction and feature selection.

In genetics and agriculture, genetic gain refers to the average improvement of a trait across generations resulting from selection, mating plans, or biotechnological methods used in breeding programs.