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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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Simple Dissecting Microscope, with adjustment by rack and pinion, movable plane mirror and white glass plate, glass stage in metal frame.

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

It’s made of the joy-buzzer energy coming into your palms through the rack-and-pinion steering, the wheel gains heft and braille-like sensitivity as cornering loads and slip angles increase.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

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

Roger North’s notebook entry showing his drawing of a two-cylinder steam engine and the rack-and-pinion mechanism by which the pistons turn an axle.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton