gib

¹ American  

[gib] / gɪb /

noun

1. a hooked prolongation that develops during the spawning season on the lower jaw of a male salmon or trout.

2. Machinery.

   1. a thin, wedgelike strip of metal for controlling the area in which a moving part, as the table of a milling machine, slides.

   2. a keylike part having a head at each end, used with a matching cotter as a fastening.

3. (in carpentry or ironwork) a heavy metal strap for fastening two members together.

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verb (used with object)

gibbed, gibbing

1. to fasten (parts) together by means of a gib.

gib ² American  

[gib] / gɪb /

noun

1. a cat, especially a male cat.

2. a castrated cat.

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Gib. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Gibraltar.

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gib ¹ British  

/ ɡɪb /

noun

1. a metal wedge, pad, or thrust bearing, esp a brass plate let into a steam engine crosshead

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verb

1. (tr) to fasten or supply with a gib

Gib ² British  

/ dʒɪb /

noun

1. an informal name for Gibraltar

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gib ³ British  

/ ɡɪb /

noun

1. a male cat, esp a castrated one

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Etymology

Origin of gib¹

First recorded in 1555–65; origin uncertain

Origin of gib²

1350–1400; Middle English gib ( be ), short for Gilbert proper name

Example Sentences

The gib is provided with horns at its ends to keep it in its place.

From An Introduction to Machine Drawing and Design by Low, David Allan

By employing a gib instead of a weight, the bed may be provided with cross girts or ribs joining the two sides of the shear, thus giving much greater stiffness to it.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua

If one end has a key and gib or gibs, but no bolt, as at the small end in Fig.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua

It is gibbed to the bed plate z by the gib f, which is so constructed as to be free from dirt.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua

By thus acting in opposite directions the screws serve to check each other, holding the gib rigidly in place.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua