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🏅 A person who benefits 🤸 A backward dive 🥤 A supplement 🍔 A person gaining weight
gainer

gainer

3 9.3
A dive where the diver kicks forward and does a backward somersault into the water feet first
  • noun
  • /ˈɡeɪnər/
  • Jargon
translation icon : gainer
  • - Do a gainer!
  • a half-gainer
  • a full gainer
  • a triple gainer

Examples

  • The diver executed a perfect gainer, landing feet first with a smile.

  • Might even try for a full gainer with a half twist.

    On Golden Pond (1981)

  • You should've seen it, my half gainer was a definite 10.

    The Thirst (2007)

  • Matisse just did a half-gainer!

    Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)

  • "I know it's hard to believe, but before I did my half gainer with a full twist down those stairs, I was a fairly decent runner."

    Fiction book (1995)

  • As she prepared for her jump, the coach shouted, "Focus on your form for that gainer!"

  • During the competition, he stunned the audience with his high gainer off the 10-meter board.

Synonyms

full gainer
vsgainer
  • Specialized
9.5

A dive where the diver jumps forward, flips backward once, and enters feet first

is the identical dive but the term emphasizes the complete backward rotation

Compounds

half gainer
  • Specialized
1 9.0

A dive in which a diver jumps forward and does a half backward flip to enter facing the board

full gainer
  • Specialized
9.5

A dive where the diver jumps forward, flips backward once, and enters feet first

weight gainer
4.2

A person who deliberately becomes heavier to improve health or build muscle

weight gainer
3.4

A high calorie drink used to help a person become heavier and build muscle

Surface Forms

gainer singular
gainers plural

Morphology

gainer = gain (opaque) = gain + er

The word 'gainer' as a diving term is not transparently related to the verb 'gain', as the meaning has shifted to a specific technical term in diving.

Etymology

Gainer comes from gain ('to get' or 'move forward') plus -er ('one or something that'), and a helpful way to remember the dive called a gainer is that the diver 'gains' forward distance while doing a backward flip and enters the water feet first.