gauge

²gauge

verb \ˈgāj\

gauged also gagedgaug·ing also gag·ing

Definition of GAUGE

transitive verb

1

a : to measure precisely the size, dimensions, or other measurable quantity of b : to determine the capacity or contents of c : estimate, judge <hard to gauge his moods>

2

a : to check for conformity to specifications or limits b : to measure off or set out

Variants of GAUGE

gauge also gage \ˈgāj\

Examples of GAUGE

1. Home sales provide a useful way of gauging the overall state of the economy.
2. He accurately gauged the mood of the voters.
3. I was gauging her reaction to the news.
4. instruments for gauging temperature and humidity
5. Through history, the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness. —W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903
6. On the other hand, no one supposes that the intellect of any two animals or of any two men can be accurately gauged by the cubic contents of their skulls. —Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 1871
7. Incommunicative as he was, some time elapsed before I had an opportunity of gauging his mind. I first got an idea of its calibre when I heard him preach in his own church at Morton. —Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847

Origin of GAUGE

(see ¹gauge)

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to GAUGE

Synonyms: calculate, call, conjecture, figure, estimate (also gage), guess, judge, make, place, put, reckon, suppose

Related Words: conclude, deduce, extrapolate, gather, infer, reason, understand

Near Antonyms: calibrate, measure, scale; compute, work out

see all synonyms and antonyms

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