Illustration of gear
- G gear 6a(2)
2
: equipment, paraphernalia
fishing gear
3
a
: 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
6
a(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
geared; gearing; gears
1
a
: to provide (machinery) with gearing (see gearing sense 2)
b
: to connect by gearing (see gearing sense 1)
2
a
: to make ready for effective operation
b
: to adjust so as to match, blend with, or satisfy something
gearing wages to productivity
1
a
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.
Synonyms
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
Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
The massive size of the horses is intimidating enough, but on this day they are dressed in full riot gear.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 26 Apr. 2024
The Palestine Solidarity Committee of Austin shared a photo of dozens of troopers dressed in riot gear with vests, shin guards and helmets and holding batons standing on the Speedway Mall of campus.
—Patrick Smith, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
Less than 24 hours after the hearings, dozens of police in riot gear descended on campus, entered the encampment, and carted off over a hundred students in zip ties.
—Nara Milanich, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
At Hot Docs, Canada’s largest documentary festival that kicks into gear this weekend, Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly has brought his documentary Life is Beautiful to Toronto for a North American premiere.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Apr. 2024
Police officers in riot gear stormed in, arresting more than seven hundred students and beating many of them in the process.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2024
Rat Sound gear was specially constructed to survive the sometimes punishing environment of a combative punk rock show.
—Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024
That excitement lifted a gear earlier in the year, when Bieber performed a surprise short set of classics and recent hits at Drake’s 2,500-capacity downtown club History and, earlier, hinted at new music to come.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024
Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2024
It’s also geared towards folks with allergies and might not relieve colds or sinusitis.
—Daley Quinn, Health, 26 Apr. 2024
However, academics said attempts to spread information by Chinese actors are probably more geared toward sowing doubt in democracy and America rather than directly targeting Trump or Biden.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2024
The amount is equivalent to more than 15% of the entire Greek economy and involves over 100 investment streams and 75 reforms, with about 60% geared toward the green transition and digitization.
—Adam Rasmi/athens, TIME, 25 Apr. 2024
The park is geared toward younger kids Kids of all ages can enjoy LEGOLAND Florida, but the prime ages are 2 to 12.
—Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
Even though the current study wasn't geared specifically toward analyzing the safety of acetaminophen during pregnancy, Dr. Lee says the researchers hope that their study provides more information for health care providers to provide advice to their pregnant patients.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
Instead, it’s geared for farms that grow fruits and vegetables, like the apple orchards in Washington, the orange groves in Florida and the peach trees in Georgia.
—Daniel Desrochers, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2024
Laurel is geared toward takeaway orders, though there are three tables outside.
—Devorah Lev-Tov Kin Woo Ella Riley-Adams Jameson Montgomery Kurt Soller Megan O’Sullivan, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
From California to New York, from Texas to Illinois, hundreds of students have been arrested after college presidents called police - some in riot gear and some carrying tear gas - to remove their own students from encampments on campus quads.
—Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
The massive size of the horses is intimidating enough, but on this day they are dressed in full riot gear.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 26 Apr. 2024
The Palestine Solidarity Committee of Austin shared a photo of dozens of troopers dressed in riot gear with vests, shin guards and helmets and holding batons standing on the Speedway Mall of campus.
—Patrick Smith, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
Less than 24 hours after the hearings, dozens of police in riot gear descended on campus, entered the encampment, and carted off over a hundred students in zip ties.
—Nara Milanich, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
At Hot Docs, Canada’s largest documentary festival that kicks into gear this weekend, Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly has brought his documentary Life is Beautiful to Toronto for a North American premiere.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Apr. 2024
Police officers in riot gear stormed in, arresting more than seven hundred students and beating many of them in the process.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2024
Rat Sound gear was specially constructed to survive the sometimes punishing environment of a combative punk rock show.
—Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024
That excitement lifted a gear earlier in the year, when Bieber performed a surprise short set of classics and recent hits at Drake’s 2,500-capacity downtown club History and, earlier, hinted at new music to come.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024
Verb
Gearing up for November elections Despite having primaries awaiting them in August, both Scott’s and Mucarsel-Powell’s campaigns already appear geared toward a general election audience.
—Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2024
It’s also geared towards folks with allergies and might not relieve colds or sinusitis.
—Daley Quinn, Health, 26 Apr. 2024
However, academics said attempts to spread information by Chinese actors are probably more geared toward sowing doubt in democracy and America rather than directly targeting Trump or Biden.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2024
The amount is equivalent to more than 15% of the entire Greek economy and involves over 100 investment streams and 75 reforms, with about 60% geared toward the green transition and digitization.
—Adam Rasmi/athens, TIME, 25 Apr. 2024
The park is geared toward younger kids Kids of all ages can enjoy LEGOLAND Florida, but the prime ages are 2 to 12.
—Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
Even though the current study wasn't geared specifically toward analyzing the safety of acetaminophen during pregnancy, Dr. Lee says the researchers hope that their study provides more information for health care providers to provide advice to their pregnant patients.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
Instead, it’s geared for farms that grow fruits and vegetables, like the apple orchards in Washington, the orange groves in Florida and the peach trees in Georgia.
—Daniel Desrochers, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2024
Laurel is geared toward takeaway orders, though there are three tables outside.
—Devorah Lev-Tov Kin Woo Ella Riley-Adams Jameson Montgomery Kurt Soller Megan O’Sullivan, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gear.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near gear
Cite this Entry
“Gear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gear. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gear
1 of 2 noun1
: equipment sense 2
camping gear
electronic gear
2
a
: a mechanism that performs a specific function in a machine
steering gear
b
: a toothed wheel : cogwheel
3
a
: working order, relation, or adjustment
got her career in gear
b
: one of the adjustments of a transmission (as of a bicycle or motor vehicle) that determine the direction of travel and the relative speed of the engine and the vehicle
gear
2 of 2 verb1
: to provide or connect with gearing
2
: to prepare for operation
gear up for production
3
: to make suitable
a book geared for children
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