It means, to have a little bit of success. You know how when you try to do something, but it just never really gets off to a good start? You never get that first little bit of success that you need to keep going. When that happens, you're having trouble gaining traction.

How do you use gain traction in a sentence?

The snow conditions were good, he thought they'd gain traction. The project failed to gain traction and was abandoned three months into development. Pipes was unable to gain traction in the campaign. Failing to gain traction, Carson suspended his campaign a few days later.

Can a person gain traction?

Traction is a form of medical treatment, in which weights and pulleys are used to gently pull or stretch an injured part of the body for a period of time. You say that a person who is having this treatment is in traction.