gear

noun \ ˈgir \

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Examples: gear in a Sentence

Definition of gear

1 a : clothing, garments

b : movable property : goods

2 : equipment, paraphernalia

fishing gear

3 a : the rigging of a ship or boat

b : the harness especially of horses

4 dialectal, chiefly British : absurd talk : nonsense

5 dialectal, chiefly British : doings

6 a (1) : a mechanism that performs a specific function in a complete machine

steering gear

(2) : a toothed wheel

(3) : working relation, position, order, or adjustment

got her career in gear

(4) : a level or pace of functioning

kicked their performance into high gear

b : one of two or more adjustments of a transmission (as of a bicycle or motor vehicle) that determine mechanical advantage, relative speed, and direction of travel

—

gearless

play \-ləs\ adjective

See gear defined for English-language learners

See gear defined for kids

Examples of gear in a Sentence

I somehow managed to pack all my gear into one suitcase.
soldiers in full combat gear
a complicated arrangement of gears and shafts
a car with four forward gears
Halfway up the hill, my bike slipped out of gear.

Recent Examples of gear from the Web

After 119 days without rain, monsoon season 2018 got in gear as Phoenix was hit hard Monday with more than a half inch at the official rain gauge at Sky Harbor Airport.

— weldon b. johnson, azcentral, "Rain in Phoenix 3 days in a row? Yeah, it happens, but not very often," 12 July 2018
Meanwhile, about a hundred yards behind her, a small fleet of buses were rumbling along in low gear.

— ryan lenora brown, The Christian Science Monitor, "South Africa's unlikely ultramarathoner helps others cross the finish line," 6 July 2018
For now, cautious carmakers are edging along in first gear.

— The Economist, "VW opens Rwanda’s first car-assembly plant," 28 June 2018
Federal officers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in riot gear and with batons.

— daniella silva /, NBC News, "Federal officers move to reopen Portland ICE building closed over protests," 28 June 2018
Sure, many of us runners love decking ourselves out from head to toe in fancy gear, from stay-put sunglasses to a high-tech GPS watch to compression sleeves for aching shins.

— sarah klein, Health.com, "These Running Socks Have More Than 2,000 5-Star Reviews on Amazon—and I'm Obsessed," 27 June 2018
But when events force Cage to shift gears from entertainer to bodyguard, he and Piranha wind up sharing an intimate moment where Piranha talks about rising to wealth in spite of his familial challenges.

— samantha nelson, The Verge, "Luke Cage is the first Netflix MCU show with a strong season 2," 22 June 2018
So before everyone gets back in gear for the next race — Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway — here are what these 14 drivers did during their off-week. 1.

— michelle r. martinelli, For The Win, "How 14 NASCAR drivers spent their time off, from Switzerland to the World Cup," 19 June 2018
The singer’s longtime partner and father of the couple’s two sons — 5-year-old Milan and 3-year-old Sasha — may play for Spain’s national team, but the boys were all decked out in yellow gear to root for mom’s native Colombia.

— grace gavilanes, PEOPLE.com, "The 2018 World Cup's Most Adorable Fans? Enrique Iglesias' Twins & More Celeb Kids!," 19 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gear.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of gear

Origin and Etymology of gear

Middle English gere, from Old Norse gervi, gǫrvi; akin to Old English gearwe equipment, clothing, gearu ready — more at yare

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

gear Synonyms

Synonyms

apparel, attire, clothes, clothing, dress, duds, garments, rags, raiment, rig, rigging, threads, toggery, togs, vestments, vesture, wear, wearables, weeds;

Related Words

wardrobe;

array, bravery, caparison, finery, gaiety (also gayety), glad rags, pretties, regalia, trim;

foofaraw, frippery;

tatters;

costume, ensemble, frock, garb, getup, guise, livery, outfit;

civvies (also civies), mufti;

couture, ready-to-wear, tailoring;

activewear, loungewear, outerwear, playwear, sportswear;

nightclothes, sleepwear, smallclothes, underclothes, underwear;

haberdashery, menswear;

gear

verb

Definition of gear

geared; gearing; gears

transitive verb

1 a : to provide (machinery) with gearing (see gearing 2)

b : to connect by gearing (see gearing 1)

2 a : to make ready for effective operation

b : to adjust so as to match, blend with, or satisfy something

gearing wages to productivity

intransitive verb

1 a British, of machinery : to be in gear : mesh

b : shift 1c

gear down

2 : to become adjusted so as to match, blend, or harmonize

The industry is geared to meet growing consumer demand.

See gear defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of gear from the Web

So, the ask is simple: Get more women’s pro, college, and national team gear into more sports stores.

— shira springer, BostonGlobe.com, "Here are nine changes that would be good for women’s sports," 22 June 2018
Given the freest choice imaginable, men gravitate toward professions geared to things, while women lean toward professions involving people.

— andrew sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Is Making Us All Live in His Delusional Reality Show," 15 June 2018
His goal is to take the current version of them and gear them toward his vision.

— chris chavez, SI.com, "Inside The Mind of Eldrick Floreal and His Approach to Coaching Sydney McLaughlin," 7 June 2018
But the x-ray signal of an IMBH would be faint, and existing x-ray satellites are geared toward detailed observations of distant sources, not wide-ranging surveys of multiple galaxies.

— daniel clery, Science | AAAS, "Discovery of middleweight black holes could explain origin of million-solar-mass monster," 30 May 2018
The camp is for 3-year-olds to incoming high school freshman and is geared to teach all of the events in track and field.

— Houston Chronicle, "News & Notes: The Woodlands and Oak Ridge North," 26 May 2018
Alex Page, salon owner and paralegal and recreational slayer of lionfish, sits on the midships gear locker with the peaceful mien of a man on his third morning at the spa.

— ben lowy, Smithsonian, "The Lionfish Have Invaded, But a Ragtag Army of Divers and Chefs Are Fighting Back," 23 May 2018
Traditionally, herring management has been geared to sac roe fisheries, which years ago was in high demand by a single customer — Japan.

— laine welch, Anchorage Daily News, "Upper Cook Inlet’s herring, smelt commercial fisheries pay big bucks to fishermen," 23 Apr. 2018
Gylling said the new design is to gear the restaurant to a younger demographic, namely, millennials.

— steve lord, Aurora Beacon-News, "Minimalist Wendy's proposed in Aurora aims to attract millennials," 9 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of gear

derivative of ¹gear

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1851

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

GEAR Defined for English Language Learners

gear

noun

Definition of gear for English Language Learners

: supplies, tools, or clothes needed for a special purpose
: a toothed wheel in a machine
: a part that connects the engine of a vehicle or the pedals of a bicycle to the wheels and controls the speed at which the wheels turn

gear

verb

Definition of gear for English Language Learners

: to make (something) suitable for a particular use or type of person

GEAR Defined for Kids

gear

noun \ ˈgir \

Definition of gear for Students

1 : equipment

camping gear

2 : a group of parts that has a specific function in a machine

steering gear

3 : a toothed wheel : cogwheel

4 : the position the gears of a machine are in when they are ready to work

in gear

5 : one of the adjustments in a motor vehicle that determine the direction of travel and the relative speed between the engine and the motion of the vehicle