less common spelling of gauge
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Gage vs. Gauge
There are two gages: one refers to pledges or securities and is no longer in common general use, and the other is a variant spelling of gauge, which in the noun form refers broadly to measurement (“fine-gauge wire”) or a standard by which something is measured (“polls are a good gauge of how voters might vote”). The earliest evidence we have for the noun gauge goes back to the 15th century, when English spelling was not yet standardized, and the word in question was spelled gauge and gage with roughly equal frequency. Gauge began to be preferred in the late 19th century for most general uses. Some claim that gage appears as a variant more frequently in the U.S., though our evidence shows that the vast majority of uses for gage are from specialized and technical industries, such as mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and electronics, and that these uses of gage are global, not limited to the U.S. Nonetheless, total use of the word gage is small when compared to the total use of the word gauge.
The verb gauge, which refers to measuring or estimating, also has a variant gage. This variant appears to show up primarily in informal sources, though not often. Gauge is by far the preferred spelling in general usage for both the noun and the verb; we encourage you use it.
Examples of gage in a Sentence
Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2025
Minor flooding occurs in the woodlands and fields upstream and downstream from the gage near the Interstate 20 bridge.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
Minor flooding occurs in the woodlands and fields upstream and downstream from the gage near the Interstate 20 bridge.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
About 90 gages hit the 100-year or greater threshold.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 11 Sep. 2024
The gage was installed many years ago to measure water conditions, the release said.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2024
Passively hang from bar, then en-gage core, lats, and glutes to perform a full pullup.
—Mallory Creveling, Women's Health, 23 Feb. 2023
No water ran through gage, but Curtis said that’s normal for this late in the summer.
—Jacob Scholl, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Sep. 2022
Cantore, whose Twitter coverage alone often spans multiple states, is an expert gage on the severity of adverse weather.
—Molly Weisner, The Courier-Journal, 12 Dec. 2021
Liza B. Zimmerman, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
Early voting data is being analyzed to better predict the outcome of the election, with different trends being pulled out to gage a better understanding of whether former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris will be victorious on November 5.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Check the amount of vitamin C in your prenatal vitamins to gage total daily intake before taking Emergen-C.
Key Takeaways
Emergen-C is safe to take while pregnant, but its efficacy isn't so clear among the medical community.
—Kelly Kamenetzky, Parents, 9 July 2024
The owners checked in with their old staff to gage their desire to return to work.
—oregonlive, 1 July 2020
Over the course of a conversation, in-person eye contact is made through a series of glances – by the speaker, to make sure the other person has understood or to gage reactions, and by the listener to indicate interest in either the other person or what’s being said.
—Carol Kinsey Goman, Forbes, 15 June 2021
The second test, designed to gage flexibility, is the sit and reach.
—Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 30 Apr. 2022
There will be a considerable sample size to gage by then.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2022
The Pew Research Center conducted a survey in August to gage how Americans would prioritize changes around immigration and border security.
—Rafael Carranza, The Arizona Republic, 18 June 2022
Cite this Entry
“Gage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gage. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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