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rack and pinion

1

noun

, Machinery, Automotive.
  1. rack15a


rack-and-pinion

2

[ rak-uhn-pin-yuhn ]

adjective

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

    rack-and-pinion steering.

rack-and-pinion

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)
“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


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
“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rack and pinion1

First recorded in 1900–05
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Example Sentences

A cheap instrument has an open face and plain frame, with sliding vernier instead of rack-and-pinion motion.

No odour, no teeth-disturbing grind of rack-and-pinion, no trumpeting, with that machine!

A rack-and-pinion movement for elevating or lowering the sliding pillar would be useful.

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