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Synonyms

gear up

British  

verb

  1. (tr) to equip with gears

  2. to prepare, esp for greater efficiency

    is our industry geared up for these new challenges?
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

McCullum is due to return to work towards the end of May as England gear up for a Test series against his native New Zealand which starts at Lord's on 4 June.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

“They did not gear up or perform any work while there and they did not see anything of note,” the statement said.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2025

Those results arrived as toymakers and retailers gear up for the key holiday shopping stretch — and as they try to cushion the impact of tariffs, which have made imports more expensive.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 21, 2025

The order comes as European governments gear up to spend more on defense, a move that has sent shares in defense companies soaring.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025

He took a huge chance then and pushed one side of his ear gear up so he could chat up the librarian.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.