What does "gear" mean?
Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor.
Gear
/ɡɪə/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor.
- Grammar: gear is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cogwheel, paraphernalia, accelerator, accessories.
- Useful contrasts: delay, deprive, neglect.
- Usage evidence: Do you have rain gear with you?
How to use "gear"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gear" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gear" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gear" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gear" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gear" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cogwheel" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gear", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor. uncountable
- 2 a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion wordnet
- 3 Clothing; garments. countable, uncountable
"Aray thy selfe in her most gorgeous geare"
- 4 equipment consisting of miscellaneous articles needed for a particular operation or sport etc. wordnet
- 5 Goods; property; household items. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Homely gear and common ware."
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- 6 a mechanism for transmitting motion for some specific purpose (as the steering gear of a vehicle) wordnet
- 7 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. countable
"Near-synonyms: (wheel types) cog, cogwheel, gear wheel, gearwheel"
- 8 wheelwork consisting of a connected set of rotating gears by which force is transmitted or motion or torque is changed wordnet
- 9 A particular combination or choice of interlocking gears, such that a particular gear ratio is achieved; often selected via a shifter. countable
- 10 A particular combination or choice of interlocking gears, such that a particular gear ratio is achieved; often selected via a shifter.; A configuration of the transmission of a motor car so as to achieve a particular ratio of engine to axle torque. countable
- 11 Ellipsis of landing gear. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"gear-up landing"
- 12 Recreational drugs, including steroids. slang, uncountable
"getting on gear"
- 13 Stuff. archaic, uncountable
"When he was digged up, which was in the presence of the Magistracy of the Town, his body was found entire, not at all putrid, no ill smell about him, saving the mustiness of the grave-Clothes, his joynts limber and flexible, as in those that are alive, his skin only flaccid, but a more fresh grown in the room of it, the wound of his throat gaping, but no gear nor corruption in it; there was also observed a Magical mark in the great toe of his right foot, viz. an Excrescency in the form of a Rose."
- 14 Business matters; affairs; concern. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"goe they both together to their geare."
- 15 Anything worthless; nonsense; rubbish. UK, countable, dialectal, obsolete, uncountable
"March 29, 1549, Hugh Latimer, the fourth sermon preached before King Edward That servant of his that confessed and uttered this gear was an honest man."
Verb
- 1 To provide with gearing; to fit with gears in order to achieve a desired gear ratio. transitive
- 2 set the level or character of wordnet
- 3 To be in gear, come into gear. intransitive
- 4 To dress; to put gear on; to harness.
- 5 To design or devise (something) so as to be suitable (for a particular type of person or a particular purpose). usually
"This shop is not really geared towards people of our age."
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- 6 To borrow money in order to invest it in assets.
Adjective
- 1 great or fantastic
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Do you have rain gear with you?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gear"?
Common synonyms include: cogwheel, paraphernalia, accelerator, accessories, accommodate, accouter.
How do you use "gear" in a sentence?
Do you have rain gear with you?
How do you pronounce "gear"?
Pronounced /ɡɪə/.
Etymology
From Middle English gere, a borrowing from Old Norse gervi, from Proto-Germanic *garwijaną (“to prepare”). See also adjective yare, yar from the same root via Old English.