gear up

verb

geared up; gearing up; gears up
Synonyms of gear upnext

intransitive verb

: to get ready
are gearing up for the big game

Examples of gear up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That said, folks training for those shorter, faster races will likely want to do more fast running than people gearing up for longer distances, like a half or full marathon, Hamilton says. Jenny McCoy, SELF, 20 Mar. 2026 Steph Curry and his brother Seth used to roam the halls of the old Charlotte Coliseum as kids while their father geared up to play games. Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 20 Mar. 2026 Further on the tech front, OpenAI is focusing employee and investor attention on its enterprise business as the artificial intelligence startup gears up to go public, potentially by the end of the year, CNBC has learned. Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 18 Mar. 2026 Southern California is gearing up for a third straight day of record-breaking temperatures as an unusually long and strong March heat wave pushes the mercury up to 35 degrees above normal. Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gear up

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gear up was in 1943

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gear up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gear%20up. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.

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