rack and pinion

¹ American  

noun

Machinery, Automotive.

1. rack15a

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rack-and-pinion ² American  

[rak-uhn-pin-yuhn] / ˈræk ənˈpɪn yən /

adjective

1. of or relating to a mechanism in which a rack engages a pinion.

   rack-and-pinion steering.

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rack-and-pinion British  

noun

1. a device for converting rotary into linear motion and vice versa, in which a gearwheel (the pinion) engages with a flat toothed bar (the rack)

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adjective

1. (of a type of steering gear in motor vehicles) having a track rod with a rack along part of its length that engages with a pinion attached to the steering column

Etymology

Origin of rack-and-pinion

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Engineering-wise, the Next Gen car includes an independent rear suspension and rack and pinion steering that’s more reactive to slight driver adjustments.

From Washington Post • Feb. 19, 2022

WHY: The steering coupling can strip on the rack and pinion assembly and result in a loss of steering control and crash hazard.

From Seattle Times • May 6, 2016

Then we changed the rack and pinion so that it would actually go around corners.

From Time Magazine Archive

And this is all standard-gauge railroad with no rack and pinion.

From Time Magazine Archive

Medium Size Microscope, stand inclinable to the extent of 45°, tripod foot, coarse adjustment by rack and pinion, fine adjustment by micrometer screw.

From Microscopes and Accessory Apparatus Catalogue No. 40 by Leitz, Ernst