valve gear

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noun

(in a reciprocating engine) the mechanism for opening and closing the valves at certain points in each stroke.

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Also called valve train .

Words nearby valve gear

valval, valvar, valvate, valve, valved, valve gear, valve-in-head engine, valvelet, valve lifter, valve spring, valve stem

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use valve gear in a sentence

And so, he says he left prison without proper ID, just his release papers and the “dress-out gear” he was given by the state.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside|Justin Rohrlich|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Such and such a time, such and such a day, then trouble with the valve.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We, on the other hand, on the police side, will naturally gear up to deal with any potential contingency that might occur.
After No Indictment for Eric Garner Killer, Is NYC the Next Ferguson?|Jacob Siegel|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The best thing about winter is seeing all the cute kids bundled up in their cold-weather gear.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Blue Ivy in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

These self-dubbed gear heads go toe to toe (or perhaps more accurately, crash to crash), with the men in the sport.
The Moms of Monster Jam Drive Trucks, Buck Macho Culture|Eliza Krigman|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The controlling leaders being out of gear the machine did not run smoothly: there was nothing but friction and tension.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
A feed-pump forced water into the boilers; each had a safety-valve with a lever and weight.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
A piece of iron sticking out from the cross-head carried the plug-rod for working the gear-handles.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
The valve-seat H has formed on its lower surface two crescent shaped long and narrow slits.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
The discharge-valve was then opened for a moment, allowing a blast of steam to escape, reducing the pressure say to one-half.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick

British Dictionary definitions for valve gear

valve gear

noun

a mechanism that operates the valves of a reciprocating engine, usually involving the use of cams, pushrods, rocker arms, etc

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