gear
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
Equipment or paraphernalia.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
girIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɪɹ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
uncountable
Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor.
countable
A wheel, wheel segment, or bar with grooves (teeth) engraved on the outer circumference, such that two such devices can interlock and convey motion from one to the other.
Clothing; garments.
uncountableslang
Recreational drugs, including steroids.
verb
usually with to or toward(s
) To design or devise (something) so as to be suitable (for a particular type of person or a particular purpose).
To dress; to put gear on; to harness.
adjective
chiefly liverpool
Great or fantastic
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor.
Used this way, gear is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a sporting use: familiar to anyone who follows the game, and puzzling to anyone who does not.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Sports
- News/reporting
- Everyday conversation
Nearby words
- gear wheel , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Equipped with or connected by gears or having gears engaged.
Wheelwork consisting of a connected set of rotating gears by which force is transmitted or motion or torque is changed.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc.
A toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion.
The shell (metal casing) in which a train of gears is sealed.
The shell (metal casing) in which a train of gears is sealed.
A toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion.
A mechanical device for engaging and disengaging gears.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The shell (metal casing) in which a train of gears is sealed.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: equipment or paraphernalia
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