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
Jemima McEvoy, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
This gear can harm the ocean and marine life -- the company aims to keep it the beaches, out of the oceans and away from landfill.
—Eric Noll, ABC News, 20 Dec. 2024
Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 19 Dec. 2024
Designed to be invisible with technology integrated throughout the acetate frames, as comfortable as any pair of glasses, and easy to set up (configuration takes less than two minutes), Nuance Audio frames are geared at people in their 50s and 60s suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss.
—Luisa Zargani, WWD, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gear 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Soon after the shooting, Dick’s experimented with removing entire gun displays in 10 of its stores and replacing them with growing categories like footwear and apparel, and products popular in that specific region: fishing gear in Florida and outerwear in Boston, for example.
—Jemima McEvoy, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
This gear can harm the ocean and marine life -- the company aims to keep it the beaches, out of the oceans and away from landfill.
—Eric Noll, ABC News, 20 Dec. 2024
Verb
For example, public school programs geared toward adult learners do not qualify to receive letter grades.
—Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 19 Dec. 2024
Designed to be invisible with technology integrated throughout the acetate frames, as comfortable as any pair of glasses, and easy to set up (configuration takes less than two minutes), Nuance Audio frames are geared at people in their 50s and 60s suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss.
—Luisa Zargani, WWD, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gear
Dictionary Entries Near gear
Cite this Entry
“Gear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gear. Accessed 26 Dec. 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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