top gear

noun

British
1
: a vehicle's highest gear
She got to the highway and shifted into top gear.
2
: a state of great or intense activity
The project is now in top gear.
The party hit top gear when the guest of honour arrived.

Examples of top gear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web With Arsenal still looking for top gear and Manchester City counting the cost of Rodri’s season-ending injury, Chelsea might be looking to the top of the table. Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024 And the bolts that attached the footrest to the chain side extended very close to the path of the chain when the bike was in its top gear. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 6 Sep. 2024 Prior to 2020, when Mecum’s prices kicked the CBX market into top gear, the CBX was a bargain for motorcycle connoisseurs, and could be easily procured for under $10,000. Mike Hanlon, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2024 During the stretch, the Dodgers’ top half slipped out of top gear. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024 Many countries in Europe are already suffering from the inflationary surge that jumped into top gear when Russia invaded Ukraine sending the costs of natural gas and oil higher, especially for those people operating in Europe. Simon Constable, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024 But the threat to sales from China, mainly with electric vehicles, won’t reach top gear before 2025, while next year European Union carbon dioxide emission rules will tighten. Neil Winton, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 And the range of gears is fairly narrow—there's not a huge difference in the number of teeth in the top gear ring and the count on the lowest ring. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 4 Nov. 2023 These are our top gear picks for camping with kids — from infants to preteens. Mandy Harris, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'top gear.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Top gear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/top%20gear. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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