GEAR

(ENGINE PART) [noun] - a device, often consisting of connecting sets of wheels with teeth around the edge, that controls how much power from an engine goes to the moving parts of a machineDoes your car have four or five gears? [C]I couldn't find reverse gear. [U]The car should be in gear (= with its gears in position, allowing the vehicle to move). [U]When you start a car you need to be in first/(US also) low gear. [U](figurative) After a slow start, the leadership campaign has suddenly shifted into top gear. [U]To change/(US also) shift gear is to change the position of the gears to make the car go faster or more slowly.Remember to take your foot off the accelerator when you change gear.In sport, if you step/move up a gear, you start to play better.After a disappointing first half, United moved up a gear and took control of the game.(UK and ANZ) A gear lever/stick (US stick shift or gearshift) is a metal rod that you use to change gear in a car or other vehicle.See pictures: Car interior, Sticks