gear

Everyday

1. The equipment or clothes you need for an activity, like camping gear or football gear. tree →
2. A wheel with teeth around the edge that turns another toothed wheel in a machine. tree →
3. One of the settings on a bike or car that changes how fast the wheels turn compared with the pedals or engine: first gear, low gear. tree →
4. "Gear up" means get ready. tree →

In the lessons

In science and technology, gears are toothed wheels that pass turning from one part to another; a small gear turning a big gear makes it turn slower but with more force, and a big gear turning a small one makes it turn faster. On a bike, a low gear makes going uphill easier. In everyday life, "gear" means kit: rain gear, PE gear. Safety gear includes helmets and knee pads. Phrases: "change gear", "in gear", "low/high gear", "safety gear", "get your gear", "gear up for".

Examples

• Pack your swimming gear for tomorrow. tree →
• Change to a lower gear to ride up the hill. tree →
• The clock has lots of tiny gears inside. tree →
• Always wear your safety gear when skateboarding. tree →
• The small gear turns twice for every turn of the big gear. tree →
• The team geared up for the big match. tree →
• Dad put the car in first gear. tree →
• Our camping gear filled the whole boot of the car. tree →
• The boy, having donned his hunting gear, would join the king at a place arranged between them, and then they ranged abroad as chance might direct. tree →

Note

For equipment, "gear" is uncountable: "my football gear", not "a football gear" or "gears". For toothed wheels it is countable: "two gears". In maths problems with gears: if a gear with 10 teeth drives a gear with 20 teeth, the big gear turns once for every 2 turns of the small one (20 ÷ 10 = 2).