gauge

American  

[gayj] / geɪdʒ /

especially in technical use, gage

verb (used with object)

• gauges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• gauged,
  past participle,  past
• gauging
  present participle

1. 

   to determine the exact dimensions, capacity, quantity, or force of; measure.

2. to appraise, estimate, or judge.

   Synonyms:

   calculate, value, assess, evaluate

3. to make conformable to a standard.

4. to mark or measure off; delineate.

5. to gradually stretch (a pierced body part, such as the earlobe) by wearing increasingly large objects in the opening.

   I started gauging my ears recently and am having them stretched every two weeks.

6. to prepare or mix (plaster) with a definite proportion of plaster of Paris and mortar.

7. to chip or rub (bricks or stones) to a uniform size or shape.

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noun

• gauges
  plural

1. a standard of measure or measurement.

2. a standard dimension, size, or quantity.

3. any device or instrument for measuring, registering measurements, or testing something, especially for measuring a dimension, quantity, or mechanical accuracy.

   pressure gauge;

   marking gauge.

4. a means of estimating or judging; criterion; test.

5. extent; scope; capacity.

   trying to determine the gauge of his own strength.

6. 1. a plug, stud, or other piece of jewelry worn in a pierced body part in order to stretch it.

      He had a silver and black gauge in his ear, centered in the elongated lobe.

   2. a standard size of such a piercing or piece of jewelry, in a system in which a lower number indicates a larger diameter (often used in combination).

      I recently went from a 10-gauge to an 8-gauge tongue piercing.

      Once you reach a certain gauge, your holes probably won’t shrink down to their original size.

7. Ordnance. a unit of measure of the internal diameter of a shotgun barrel, determined by the number of spherical lead bullets of a diameter equal to that of the bore that are required to make one pound.

   a twelve-gauge shotgun.

8. Railroads. the distance between the inner edges of the heads of the rails in a track, usually 4 feet 8.5 inches (1.4 meters) standard gauge, but sometimes more broad gauge and sometimes less narrow gauge.

9. the distance between a pair of wheels on an axle.

10. the thickness or diameter of various, usually thin, objects, as the thickness of sheet metal or the diameter of a wire or screw.

11. the fineness of a knitted fabric as expressed in loops per every 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters).

    15 denier, 60 gauge stockings.

12. Nautical. the position of one vessel as being to the windward weather gauge or to the leeward lee gauge of another vessel on an approximately parallel course.

13. Building Trades. the portion of the length of a slate, tile, etc., left exposed when laid in place.

14. the amount of plaster of Paris mixed with mortar or common plaster to hasten the set.

gauge British  

/ ɡeɪdʒ /

verb

1. to measure or determine the amount, quantity, size, condition, etc, of

2. to estimate or appraise; judge

3. to check for conformity or bring into conformity with a standard measurement, dimension, etc

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noun

1. a standard measurement, dimension, capacity, or quantity

2. any of various instruments for measuring a quantity

   a pressure gauge

3. any of various devices used to check for conformity with a standard measurement

4. a standard or means for assessing; test; criterion

5. scope, capacity, or extent

6. the diameter of the barrel of a gun, esp a shotgun

7. the thickness of sheet metal or the diameter of wire

8. the distance between the rails of a railway track: in Britain 4 ft 8 1/ 2 in. (1.435 m)

9. the distance between two wheels on the same axle of a vehicle, truck, etc

10. nautical the position of a vessel in relation to the wind and another vessel. One vessel may be windward ( weather gauge ) or leeward ( lee gauge ) of the other

11. the proportion of plaster of Paris added to mortar to accelerate its setting

12. the distance between the nails securing the slates, tiles, etc, of a roof

13. a measure of the fineness of woven or knitted fabric, usually expressed as the number of needles used per inch

14. the width of motion-picture film or magnetic tape

adjective

1. (of a pressure measurement) measured on a pressure gauge that registers zero at atmospheric pressure; above or below atmospheric pressure See also absolute

   5 bar gauge

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misgauge
  verb (used with object)
• regauge
  verb (used with object)
• gaugeable
  adjective
• multigauge
  adjective
• ungauged
  adjective
• gaugeably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gauges
  plural

Participles

• gauging
  present
• gauged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• gauge
  simple
• gauges
  simple
• have gauged
  perfect
• has gauged
  perfect
• am gauging
  progressive
• are gauging
  progressive
• is gauging
  progressive
• have been gauging
  perfect progressive
• has been gauging
  perfect progressive

Past

• gauged
  simple
• had gauged
  perfect
• was gauging
  progressive
• were gauging
  progressive
• had been gauging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will gauge
  simple
• will have gauged
  perfect
• will be gauging
  progressive
• will have been gauging
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of gauge

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Old North French ( French jauge ), from Germanic

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Explanation

If you ask your friend, "How do you feel, generally, about loaning your car to people?" your intention might be to gauge his reaction before you flat-out ask if you can borrow his car. To gauge is to measure or test. The verb gauge means to estimate or measure, while the noun gauge is a tool you can use to make such a measurement. If you've ever seen someone check the air pressure in a tire, the instrument she used was called a tire gauge. The thickness, or diameter, of an item like wire (or the barrel of a gun) is another meaning of gauge.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gauge gauges gauged gauging

The decline in the gauge illustrates that the summer of the extreme bull has ended but, as Michael Hartnett’s weekly “Flow Show” notes, asset allocators are not underweight risk.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Its revenue figures, along with those of rival OpenAI, offer an important gauge of the AI industry's growth and ability to finance the infrastructure needed to develop the technology.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

This despite the gauge showing a battery range of 110 miles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

And on Thursday, the producer-price index will be the last reading to help investors gauge the toll of surging diesel prices in the United States before the midterm elections.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

“My wife leads our warriors. She goes with us not to direct the quest but to gauge the level of support we may expect from our allies.”

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

A widening gap between stock and bond volatility gauges suggests equities could be overlooking inflation, borrowing, and interest-rate risks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

And, as I explained in my last column, bond gauges offer some confusing contradictions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

One possible long-term remedy might be river level gauges that relay changes to authorities in real-time, giving residents 20-30 minutes of warning, he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Some of the week’s economic gauges also painted a concerning picture of the market, including home-builder sentiment, which remains depressed and below the break-even level of 50 since April 2024.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

The gauges, however, showed an amplitude within the green only.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

What makes things even more difficult is that it’s impossible, as of now, to pinpoint the exact time and location of a downpour, even though it can be gauged with marvelous accuracy.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

An Institute of Governmental Studies poll in August gauged interest in the potential candidacy of Newsom and Harris.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026

The S&P 500 has slid 2.5% in March, while the U.S. bond market, as gauged by the iShares Core U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026

The result of the survey, which gauged sentiment of around 2,000 consumers, fell short of a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, which had expected an improvement to minus 15.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

Instead, Emily, breathing quietly in the darkness, gauged the state of the household by straining to listen.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Once he had his foot in the door as an intern, success became an obsession, with bonuses becoming "a way of gauging how wonderfully successful a human being I was".

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Meanwhile, the HMI index gauging sales conditions rose slightly and the indexes for future sales and prospective buyer traffic held steady.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The Kaub gauging station in western Germany is a key indicator of navigability on the Rhine because it measures how heavily cargo vessels can be loaded.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

But there’s also been a slight shift back toward gauging the room for rate cuts.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

Ruthanne looked sideways at me, I guess gauging if my level of enthusiasm deserved her tale.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

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Related Words

• appraise
• ascertain
• assess
• calculate
• calibrate
• determine
• evaluate
• guess
• quantify
• take account of
• weigh

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