1 gear
Pronounced:
/ˈgiɚ/
Function:
nounInflected forms:
plural gearsMeaning:
1 [noncount] a : supplies, tools, or clothes needed for a special purpose ▪ fishing gear ▪ I somehow managed to pack all my gear into one suitcase. ▪ soldiers in full combat gear ▪ wearing protective gear ▪ rain gear [=waterproof clothes worn in the rain] —see also footgear, headgear, landing gear b informal : clothes ▪ She wears trendy gear.
2 a [count] : a toothed wheel in a machine ▪ a complicated arrangement of gears and shafts b : 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 [count] ▪ a car with four forward gears [noncount] ▪ Halfway up the hill, my bike slipped out of gear. ▪ He put the car in/into gear [=he moved the lever that controls the car's gears into the position that allows the car to begin moving] and drove away. ▪ (US) She shifted into low/high gear. = (Brit) She changed into bottom/top gear. [=she changed to a gear that allows for a slower/faster rate of speed] —see also reverse gear
2 a [count] : a toothed wheel in a machine ▪ a complicated arrangement of gears and shafts b : 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 [count] ▪ a car with four forward gears [noncount] ▪ Halfway up the hill, my bike slipped out of gear. ▪ He put the car in/into gear [=he moved the lever that controls the car's gears into the position that allows the car to begin moving] and drove away. ▪ (US) She shifted into low/high gear. = (Brit) She changed into bottom/top gear. [=she changed to a gear that allows for a slower/faster rate of speed] —see also reverse gear
change/shift/switch gears (US) or Brit change gear
: to move from one level or area of activity to another ▪ He once again changed gears in his career. ▪ She's decided to shift gears, quit her job, and go back to school.
get in gear or get (something) in gear
informal : to start working or doing something in a more energetic and effective way ▪ We need to get in gear [=get going] if we want to finish this project on time. ▪ She finally got her career in gear. [=finally started to be successful in her career] ▪ (US, informal + impolite) He angrily told him to get his ass in gear. [=to get going, to start moving or doing something much more quickly]
in/into high gear —see high gear
