Showing results for high gear. Search instead for high+gear.

high gear

Idioms

A state of maximum activity, energy, or force. For example, His mind was in high gear as he studied for the medical exam, or The political campaign is finally moving into high gear. This expression alludes to the high gear of an engine transmission, used at the fastest speeds.

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.

The technology was developed decades ago, but federal incentives during the Obama administration kicked U.S. adoption into high gear.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The AI chatbot marketing wars are kicking into high gear as Anthropic, the startup behind Claude, takes aim at rival OpenAI in its Super Bowl advertising debut.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

“And sometimes the benefit is you’re really just starting to kick into high gear when everybody’s starting to peter out. And sometimes that can feel like a breath of fresh air.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

The series also resists the temptation to show Gacy dressed up as Pogo the Clown, the image that helped kick several generations’ claims of coulrophobia into high gear.

From Salon • Oct. 29, 2025

Now that his personal demons were out in the open and Abigail was on board, the collaboration moved into high gear.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

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