gain steam

Meanings

verbgain steam (third-person singular simple present gains steam, present participle gaining steam, simple past and past participle gained steam)

present singular third person gains steam · participle present gaining steam · participle past gained steam · past gained steam

Synonym of gather steam.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto fraud trial gained steam on Thursday when the co-founder of his fallen exchange, Gary Wang, took the stand as a government witness in Manhattan federal court.
2023 October 5, Victoria Bekiempis, “FTX co-founder testifies he committed crimes with Sam Bankman-Fried”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Synonyms: gather steam

verbSynonym of gather steam.

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Cite this entry

APA

gain steam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gain%20steam

MLA

“gain steam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gain%20steam. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gain steam,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gain%20steam.