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gear

noun (ENGINE PART)
 
 
/ɡɪər/ US  /ɡɪr/

Definition

B2 [C or U] a device, often consisting of connecting sets of wheels with teeth (= points) around the edge, that controls how much power from an engine goes to the moving parts of a machine: Does your car have four or five gears? I couldn't find reverse gear. The car should be in gear (= with its gears in position, allowing the vehicle to move). When you start a car you need to be in first (US also low) gear.figurative After a slow start, the leadership campaign suddenly shifted into top gear (= started to advance very quickly).The engine and engine partsEngines and motors change gear UK (US also shift gear) to change the position of the gears to make a vehicle go faster or more slowlyDriving and operating road vehicles
(Definition of gear noun (ENGINE PART) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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