gearshift

noun

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gear·shift | \ ˈgir-ˌshift

variants: or gear shift

plural gearshifts or gear shifts

Definition of gearshift

1 : a mechanism by which the transmission gears in a power-transmission system are engaged and disengaged also : a lever for controlling such a mechanism

2 : the functioning of a gearshift mechanism : the act or an instance of shifting gears A new, eight-speed automatic transmission makes gear shifts based in part on g-forces that the car encounters during spirited driving.— Ann M. Job

Examples of gearshift in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Police opened the truck door, placed the gearshift in park and removed the keys. — Bob Sandrick, cleveland, "Drunk woman arrested after kicking, pushing police; intoxicated driver passes out in pickup truck: Berea police blotter," 12 Mar. 2021 The truck’s gearshift was in drive and the keys were the ignition. — Bob Sandrick, cleveland, "Drunk woman arrested after kicking, pushing police; intoxicated driver passes out in pickup truck: Berea police blotter," 12 Mar. 2021 The primary evidence police had to go on was blood on Michelle's dress and on the car's gearshift that in 2005 was finally identified as male DNA. — Alec Sirken, CBS News, "Is the killer of an Iowa teen linked to missing news anchor Jodi Huisentruit?," 6 Nov. 2020 For its famous director, Christopher Nolan, the burying of dialogue is not a new technique; this is a man who literally muzzled Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises, so that his every utterance sounded like pebbles in a gearshift. — Ross Douthat, National Review, "Tenet Has to Be Studied and Viewed Multiple Times to Be Understood," 17 Sep. 2020 The steering wheel and gearshift knob are leather-wrapped. — Jeff Yip, Houston Chronicle, "Kia’s roomy new Seltos SUV delivers style, value," 10 July 2020 The issue is separate from a problematic gearshift design, which has been linked to more than 266 rollaway crashes and 68 injuries, in 2012-14 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300s and 2014-15 Jeep Grand Cherokees. — Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, "Jeep Cherokee rollaway risk leads to recall from FCA," 18 June 2020 The company says the Santa Fe now offers nicer soft-touch materials, and the gearshift adopts a pushbutton layout. — Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, "2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Shows New Face, Nicer Interior," 3 June 2020 Shifty: The gearshift is the first item that’s hard to find. — cleveland, "Sporty Mercedes crosses over many boundaries (review)," 11 Apr. 2020

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