gear

gear¹ S3 [gıə US gır] n

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1¦(in cars etc)¦

2

3 change gear

4¦(equipment)¦

5¦(clothes)¦

6¦(machinery)¦

7¦(drugs)¦

8 get your ass in gear

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[: Old English; Origin: gearwe]

1.) ¦(IN CARS ETC)¦ [U and C]

the machinery in a vehicle such as a car, truck, or bicycle that you use to go comfortably at different speeds

▪ His mountain bike had 18 gears.

▪ Andy drove cautiously along in third gear .

▪ Does this thing have a reverse gear ?

▪ Any cyclist can climb a difficult hill; you just change gear .

▪ Don't turn off the engine while you're still in gear .

▪ It's a good habit to take the car out of gear while you're at a stoplight.

2.) [U and C]

used to talk about the amount of effort and energy that someone is using in a situation

▪ During this period, Japan's export industries were in top gear (=were as active as they could be) .

▪ The Republican's propaganda machine moved into high gear .

step up a gear

BrE (=increase the level of effort)

▪ United stepped up a gear in the second half.

3.) change gear

BrE change/switch/shift gears AmE

to start doing something in a different way, especially using more or less energy or effort

▪ The boss expects us to be able to change gear just like that.

4.) ¦(EQUIPMENT)¦[U]

a set of equipment or tools you need for a particular activity

▪ He's crazy about photography - he's got all the gear.

▪ We'll need camping gear when we go away.

5.) ¦(CLOTHES)¦[U]

a set of clothes that you wear for a particular occasion or activity

▪ Bring your rain gear.

▪ police in riot gear

6.) ¦(MACHINERY)¦[U]

a piece of machinery that performs a particular job

▪ the landing gear of a plane

▪ heavy lifting gear

7.) ¦(DRUGS)¦[U]

BrE informal a word meaning illegal drugs, used by people who take drugs

8.) get your ass in gear

AmE informal used to tell someone to hurry

= move your ass

▪ You'd better get your ass in gear - you're late.

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

in/into ... gear

first/second/third etc gear

high/low gear

top/bottom gear British English

reverse gear (=for driving backwards)

change gear British English

change/switch/shift gears American English (=change to a different gear)

crunch/grind the gears (=change gear in a way that makes an unpleasant noise)

in/into gear (=with a gear connecting the engine to the wheels)

out of gear (=with the engine not connected to the wheels)

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gear ²

gear² v [T]

be geared to sb/sth

to be organized in a way that is suitable for a particular purpose or situation

▪ The typical career pattern was geared to men whose wives didn't work.

be geared to do sth

▪ The course curriculum is geared to span three years.

gear up phr v

to prepare for something

gear up for

▪ The organization is gearing up for a convention in May.

gear up/be geared up to do sth

▪ Fast food restaurants are geared up to serve thousands of people daily.