gear Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion
    cogwheel; gear wheel; geared wheel.
  2. noun wheelwork consisting of a connected set of rotating gears by which force is transmitted or motion or torque is changed
    gearing; geartrain; train; power train.
    • the fool got his tie caught in the geartrain
  3. noun a mechanism for transmitting motion for some specific purpose (as the steering gear of a vehicle)
    gear mechanism.
  4. noun equipment consisting of miscellaneous articles needed for a particular operation or sport etc.
    appurtenance; paraphernalia.
  5. verb set the level or character of
    pitch.
    • She pitched her speech to the teenagers in the audience

WordNet

Gear noun
Etymology
OE. gere, ger, AS. gearwe clothing, adornment, armor, fr. gearo, gearu, ready, yare; akin to OHG. garawi, garwi ornament, dress. See Yare, and cf. Garb dress.
Definitions
  1. Clothing; garments; ornaments.
    Array thyself in thy most gorgeous gear. Spenser.
  2. Goods; property; household stuff. Chaucer.
    Homely gear and common ware. Robynson (More's Utopia)
  3. Whatever is prepared for use or wear; manufactured stuff or material.
    Clad in a vesture of unknown gear. Spenser.
  4. The harness of horses or cattle; trapping.
  5. Warlike accouterments. Scot. Jamieson.
  6. Manner; custom; behavior. Obs. Chaucer.
  7. Business matters; affairs; concern. Obs.
    Thus go they both together to their gear. Spenser.
  8. (Mech.) (a) A toothed wheel, or cogwheel; as, a spur gear, or a bevel gear; also, toothed wheels, collectively. (b) An apparatus for performing a special function; gearing; as, the feed gear of a lathe. (c) Engagement of parts with each other; as, in gear; out of gear.
  9. pl. (Naut.) See 1st Jeer (b).
  10. Anything worthless; stuff; nonsense; rubbish. Obs. or Prov. Eng. Wright.
    That servant of his that confessed and uttered this gear was an honest man. Latimer.
Gear transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Geared ; present participle & verbal noun Gearing
Definitions
  1. To dress; to put gear on; to harness.
  2. (Mach.) To provide with gearing.
Gear intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Mach.) To be in, or come into, gear.

Webster 1913