gear

noun

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\ ˈgir

Definition of gear

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : clothing, garments

b : movable property : goods

2 : equipment, paraphernalia fishing gear

3a : 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

6a(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

gear

verb

geared; gearing; gears

Definition of gear (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

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

b : to connect by gearing (see gearing sense 1)

2a : to make ready for effective operation

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

intransitive verb

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

b : shift sense 1c gear down

2 : to become adjusted so as to match, blend, or harmonize The industry is geared to meet growing consumer demand.

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Examples of gear in a Sentence

Noun 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 on the Web: Noun As is usually the case, Djokovic got back in gear down the stretch to hold off the much younger, much less accomplished Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 to reach his fifth title match at Roland Garros. — Star Tribune, "Novak Djokovic pushed to five sets before reaching final in French Open against Rafael Nadal," 9 Oct. 2020 Getting it back in gear won’t be easy this week, considering Tampa Bay ranks second against the run. — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, "Buccaneers vs. Bears live stream (10/8): How to watch Thursday Night Football online, TV, time," 8 Oct. 2020 It is conventionally considered a challenging type of fishing, one that requires patience, practice and often a hefty investment in gear. — Darrell Hartman, WSJ, "The Fly-Fishing Boom Is Finally Here," 6 Oct. 2020 Make sure your car is in gear, with the parking brake set and the tires that will stay on the ground chocked in place. — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, "How to Rotate Your Tires," 5 Oct. 2020 Hardesty told The Oregonian/OregonLive that part of the police response would include ordering officers to have their names back on their uniforms rather than employee numbers and not responding in riot gear. — oregonlive, "New Portland police chief, revised protest response among Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty’s ideas for bureau oversight," 2 Oct. 2020 Next thing West knew, an officer in riot gear loomed over him, boot on his chest, gun barrel in his eye. — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, "From ‘Uptown burglar’ to college football’s most popular motivational speaker, Damon West can hardly believe it himself," 1 Oct. 2020 Across Victoria Harbor, chanting broke out sporadically in a shopping mall in Mong Kok, which was also heavily patrolled by police in riot gear. — Eric Lam, Bloomberg.com, "Hong Kong Ensures ‘Stable’ Holiday With Thousands of Riot Police," 30 Sep. 2020 There was also a noticeable law enforcement presence, with more than a dozen Portland police officers in riot gear hanging off both sides of white vans that moved through the area. — Washington Post, "Portland braces for Proud Boys rally weeks after far-right activist was fatally shot at similar event," 26 Sep. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb As for the unibody Sport SUV, Ford likes to describe it as the mule that will haul gear, bikes and kayaks to the trailhead. — Tribune News Service, cleveland, "In the saddle of the bucking Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport," 29 Aug. 2020 The shooting drew condemnation from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who also called out 125 members of the National Guard on Monday after protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear the previous night. — Mike Householder And Tammy Webber, chicagotribune.com, "Fires burn overnight in Kenosha, Madison as father of Jacob Blake says son may be paralyzed," 25 Aug. 2020 The shooting drew condemnation from Democratic Governor Tony Evers, who also called out 125 members of the National Guard on Monday after protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear the previous night. — CBS News, "Protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin over police shooting of Jacob Blake turn violent for second night in row," 25 Aug. 2020 The shooting drew condemnation from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who also called out 125 members of the National Guard on Monday after protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear the previous night. — Arkansas Online, "Jacob Blake's dad says son left paralyzed by police shooting," 25 Aug. 2020 The shooting drew condemnation from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who also called out 125 members of the National Guard on Monday after protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear the previous night. — Author: Mike Householder, Tammy Webber, Anchorage Daily News, "Protesters and police clash again in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after officer shoots Black man in back," 25 Aug. 2020 Mr Francis founded Gymshark from his parents’ garage in 2012, making gym gear his grandmother taught him to sew. — The Economist, "Clothes, image and Instagram How social media made Gymshark," 22 Aug. 2020 President Trump called for people to boycott Goodyear in response to a ban on employees wearing Make America Great Again gear. — Mike Brest, Washington Examiner, "Trump calls for boycott of Goodyear over ban on MAGA attire," 19 Aug. 2020 Residents of the 600 block of the Seventh Avenue said someone stole fishing gear off their back porch and rummaged through two of their vehicles the night of Aug. 7 or morning of Aug. 8. — Kimberly Fornek, chicagotribune.com, "La Grange police blotter: Fishing gear stolen from back porch," 14 Aug. 2020

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.

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Last Updated

18 Oct 2020

Cite this Entry

“Gear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gear. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.

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More Definitions for gear

gear

noun

English Language Learners Definition of gear

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

English Language Learners Definition of gear (Entry 2 of 2)

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

See the full definition for gear in the English Language Learners Dictionary

gear

noun

\ ˈgir

Kids Definition of gear

(Entry 1 of 2)

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 reverse gear

6 : working order or condition He got his career in gear.

gear

verb

geared; gearing

Kids Definition of gear (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to make ready for operation We need to gear up for production.

2 : to be or make suitable The book is geared to children.

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