*gear*

. (Mach.) A gear by means of which the speed of machinery or of a vehicle may be changed while that of the propelling engine or motor remains constant; -- called also
change-speed gear. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Mach.) A change-speed gear in which the gears are changed by sliding endwise. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. A harness for draught horses. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Railroad) The means or parts by which cars are connected to be drawn. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. gere, ger, AS. gearwe clothing, adornment, armor, fr. gearo, gearu, ready, yare; akin to OHG. garawī, garwī ornament, dress. See Yare, and cf. Garb dress. ] 1. Clothing; garments; ornaments. [ 1913 Webster ]

Array thyself in thy most gorgeous gear. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Goods; property; household stuff. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Homely gear and common ware. Robynson (More's Utopia). [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Whatever is prepared for use or wear; manufactured stuff or material. [ 1913 Webster ]

Clad in a vesture of unknown gear. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The harness of horses or cattle; trapping. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Warlike accouterments. [ Scot. ] Jamieson. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Manner; custom; behavior. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Business matters; affairs; concern. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Thus go they both together to their gear. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Mech.) (a) A toothed wheel, or cogwheel; as, a spur gear, or a bevel gear; also, toothed wheels, collectively. (b) An apparatus for performing a special function; gearing; as, the feed gear of a lathe. (c) Engagement of parts with each other; as, in gear; out of gear. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. pl. (Naut.) See 1st Jeer (b). [ 1913 Webster ]

10. Anything worthless; stuff; nonsense; rubbish. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

That servant of his that confessed and uttered this gear was an honest man. Latimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bever gear. See Bevel gear. --
Core gear, a mortise gear, or its skeleton. See Mortise wheel, under Mortise. --
Expansion gear (Steam Engine), the arrangement of parts for cutting off steam at a certain part of the stroke, so as to leave it to act upon the piston expansively; the cut-off. See under Expansion. --
Feed gear. See Feed motion, under Feed, n. --
Gear cutter, a machine or tool for forming the teeth of gear wheels by cutting. --
Gear wheel, any cogwheel. --
Running gear. See under Running. --
To throw in gear or
To throw out of gear (Mach.), to connect or disconnect (wheelwork or couplings, etc.); to put in, or out of, working relation. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Geared p. pr. & vb. n. Gearing. ] 1. To dress; to put gear on; to harness. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mach.) To provide with gearing. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To adapt toward some specific purpose; as, they geared their advertising for maximum effect among teenagers. [ PJC ]

Double geared, driven through twofold compound gearing, to increase the force or speed; -- said of a machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. (Mach.) To be in, or come into, gear. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the metal casing in which a train of gears is sealed.
Syn. -- gear case. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. Harness. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mach.) The parts by which motion imparted to one portion of an engine or machine is transmitted to another, considered collectively; as, the valve gearing of a locomotive engine; belt gearing; esp., a train of wheels for transmitting and varying motion in machinery. [ 1913 Webster ]

Frictional gearing. See under Frictional. --
Gearing chain, an endless chain transmitting motion from one sprocket wheel to another. See Illust. of Chain wheel. --
Spur gearing, gearing in which the teeth or cogs are ranged round either the concave or the convex surface (properly the latter) of a cylindrical wheel; -- for transmitting motion between parallel shafts, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a connected set of rotating gears by which force is transmitted or motion or torque is changed.
Syn. -- gearing, gears, power train, train. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. To prepare (for an event or activity); as, to gear up for the election campaign. [ PJC ]

or /mhw>, n. 1. Headdress. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Apparatus above ground at the mouth of a mine or deep well. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ So called from the inventor. ] (Mach.) Spur gearing having teeth slanting across the face of the wheel, sometimes slanting in opposite directions from the middle. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Mach.) A steering gear, esp. for an automobile, not affected by the road wheels, as when they strike an obstacle side ways, but easily controlled by the hand wheel or steering lever. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. The wheels and attached structures under an airplane that support it and allow it to move when on the ground; also, the floats or pontoons of an amphibious airplane together with their supporting structures. Landing gear may be fixed rigidly in place, or retractable when in flight. [ PJC ]

v. t. [ 1st pref. un- + gear. ] To strip of gear; to unharness; to throw out of gear. [ 1913 Webster ]