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 Her spring 2021 collection, a continuation of her graduate show, fuses suiting with outdoor gear. — Vogue Runway, Vogue, "The New Names to Know From NYFW’s Spring 2021 Season," 21 Sep. 2020 She's gone from selling her aprons at farmers markets on weekends to outfitting the world's top chefs, celebrities and home cooks with Hedley & Bennett gear. — Jean Song, CBS News, "Hedley & Bennett's "Wake Up & Fight" masks become a call to action," 17 Sep. 2020 Critics said the police response was an overreaction to the actions of a few trouble-makers who almost never seriously threatened officers outfitted with protective gear. — oregonlive, "100 Days of Protests in Portland," 5 Sep. 2020 As the race began, hundreds of protesters lined the chain link fence on the track perimeter, shouting at dozens of police officers equipped with riot gear. — Joe Drape, New York Times, "Authentic Wins the Kentucky Derby, Run Without Fans," 5 Sep. 2020 Accessing the craters has to be done with climbing gear and there is a limited window -- the craters turn into lakes within two years of being formed. — Katie Hunt, CNN, "Massive mystery holes appear in Siberian tundra — and could be linked to climate change," 4 Sep. 2020 Some protesters marched to the police station on their own, meeting a barricade of officers equipped with riot gear. — Ben Berke, USA Today, "‘Young Black Queen’ fights for change in policing in Brockton, Massachusetts," 31 Aug. 2020 Gas cars have multispeed transmissions with a tall top gear for high-speed cruising at a low, efficient engine speed. — Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, "Electric Vehicles Deserve a New EPA Range Test," 30 Aug. 2020 Besides persistent delays in the payment of salaries, doctors say they have been supplied with poor-quality protective gear that has led many of them to become infected in the course of caring for the sick. — BostonGlobe.com, "Cases surge in Lebanon in aftermath of explosion," 21 Aug. 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

24 Sep 2020

Cite this Entry

“Gear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gear. Accessed 25 Sep. 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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