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• rack and pinion
  rack and pinion

  noun

  rack15a
• rack-and-pinion
  rack-and-pinion

  adjective

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

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 jən /

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

See Examples For:

rack and pinion rack-and-pinion

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

The motion of the microscope is by means of a screw, that of the stage by double rack and pinion.

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

The sanctioning body moved to an independent rear suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, a five-speed sequential shifter, a transaxle, 19-inch wheels and a center hub instead of lug nuts.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2023

The recirculating ball steering is replaced with rack-and-pinion, and 15-inch wheels have been swapped for 18-inchers.

From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2021

The Zero resto-mod process retains the original double-wishbone front suspension, unassisted rack-and-pinion steering, and hydraulic disc brakes, including the rear inboard brakes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2018

The steering is hydraulically assisted rack-and-pinion, not electric; it’s pretty spot on anyway, with quick reflexes just off center and gathering weight and sharpness as loads increase.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2015

On the right there are two images of his rack-and-pinion ratchet mechanism.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton