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Gear definition

gîr
geared gearing gears
See word origin
Frequency:
Equipment, such as tools or clothing, used for a particular activity.

Fishing gear.

noun
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The definition of a gear is a simple machine with teeth that increases the force needed to push or pull something.
noun
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(engineering, intransitive) To be in, or come into, gear.
verb
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(chiefly brit., slang) Highly acceptable, attractive, etc.
adjective
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(slang) Recreational drugs.
noun
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(uncountable, archaic) Stuff.
noun
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(engineering) To provide with gearing; to fit with gears in order to achieve a desired gear ratio.
verb
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To dress; to put gear on; to harness.
verb
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(mostly British (Scouse)) great or fantastic.
adjective
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Gear is defined as clothing or equipment needed for something specific.

An example of gear is a mask for hockey.

noun
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Gear means to make ready or prepare.

An example of gear is to prepare the home for a hurricane.

verb
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Gears can increase speed, increase force or change direction.
noun
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A gear is a simple, rotating machine which usually has teeth (cogs).
noun
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When they connect to another gear, they transmit torque, which is like a twisting force.
noun
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When two gears work together, it is called a transmission.
noun
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Not all gears have teeth. In a rack and pinion gear, the pinion is the gear wheel and it meshes with the rack, which is a long bar with cogs.

An example of a gear is a bike chain.

noun
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The harness for a horse.
noun
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(mech.) To be in, or come into, proper adjustment or working order.
verb
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To adjust or adapt so as to make suitable.

Geared the speech to a conservative audience.

verb
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To provide with gear; equip.
verb
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To equip with gears.
verb
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To connect by gears.
verb
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To furnish with gear; harness.
verb
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To adapt (one thing) so as to conform with another.

To gear production to demand.

verb
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A toothed machine part, such as a wheel or cylinder, that meshes with another toothed part to transmit motion or to change speed or direction.
noun
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A complete assembly that performs a specific function in a larger machine.
noun
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A transmission configuration for a specific ratio of engine to axle torque in a motor vehicle.
noun
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Clothing and accessories.

The latest gear for teenagers.

noun
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Personal belongings, including clothing.

Keeps her gear in a trunk.

noun
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A ship's rigging.
noun
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A sailor's personal effects.
noun
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To put into gear.
verb
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To come into or be in gear.
verb
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To shift a transmission.

Geared down to take the curve.

verb
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To become adjusted so as to fit or blend.
verb
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Movable property; esp., apparatus or equipment for some particular task, as a workman's tools, the rigging of a ship, a harness, etc.
noun
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(obs.) The clothing and equipment of a soldier, knight, etc.
noun
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Clothing; apparel.
noun
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A toothed wheel, disk, etc. designed to mesh with another or with the thread of a worm.
noun
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A system of two or more gears meshed together so that the motion of one controls the speed and torque of another.
noun
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A specific adjustment of such a system.
noun
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Any part of a mechanism performing a specific function.

The steering gear.

noun
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To connect by gears.
verb
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To furnish with gears.
verb
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To put into gear.
verb
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A wheel with teeth around its rim that mesh with the teeth of another wheel to transmit motion. Gears are used to transmit power (as in a car transmission) or change the direction of motion in a mechanism (as in a differential axle). Fixed ratios of speed in various parts of a machine is often established by the arrangement of gears.
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(uncountable) Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor.
noun
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Clothing; garments.
noun
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(countable) A wheel with grooves (teeth) engraved on the outer circumference, such that two such devices can interlock and convey motion from one to the other.
noun
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(countable) A particular combination or choice of interlocking gears, such that a particular gear ratio is achieved.
noun
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(countable) A configuration of the transmission of a motor car so as to achieve a particular ratio of engine to axle torque.
noun
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gear down
  • to adjust gears so that the driven element goes slower than the driving element, with a consequent increase in torque
idiom
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gear up
  • to adjust gears so that the driven element goes faster than the driving element, with a consequent decrease in torque
  • to accelerate; increase efficiency (of)
    The factory geared up production.
idiom
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high gear
  • the arrangement of gears providing the greatest speed but little torque
  • high speed or efficiency
idiom
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in (or out of) gear
  • (not) connected to the motor
  • (not) in proper adjustment or working order
idiom
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low gear
  • the arrangement of gears providing little speed but great torque
  • low speed or efficiency
idiom
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reverse gear
  • the arrangement of gears providing reverse, or backward, motion
idiom
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shift gears
  • to change from one gear arrangement to another
  • to change one's approach or focus
idiom
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
gear
Plural:
Gears

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

in (<i>or</i> out of) gear

Origin of gear

  • Middle English gere equipment from Old Norse gervi gera to do, make, make ready

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old Norse gervi.

    From Wiktionary

Gear Sentence Examples

  • I guess your gear is back in your car.

  • I'll just leave most of my ice climbing gear in the car.

  • He stu­diously perused the biking catalogs for the additional gear he would need for the trek and crossed his fingers he'd chosen cor­rectly.

  • The collection was made up of Shipton's newly purchased, barely used, ice climbing gear, ropes, ice axes, pitons and various garments.

  • The gate guards were doubled, armed and wearing tactical gear, the perimeter lit by intense floodlights.

More sentences

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Also Mentioned In

Words near gear in the Dictionary