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• wire gauge
  wire gauge

  noun

  a gauge calibrated for determining the diameter of wire.
• wire-gauge
  wire-gauge

  noun

  a flat plate with slots in which standard wire sizes can be measured

wire gauge

American  

noun

1. a gauge calibrated for determining the diameter of wire.

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wire-gauge British  

noun

1. a flat plate with slots in which standard wire sizes can be measured

2. a standard system of sizes for measuring the diameters of wires

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Etymology

Origin of wire gauge

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wire gauge wire-gauge

A wire’s size is referred to as the wire gauge.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2021

And fences must meet strict criteria on height, wire gauge and post spacing.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 23, 2015

Very thin wire--i.e. above No. 20 on the Birmingham wire gauge — does not do, for it gets burned through, and perhaps allows the work to fall apart at a critical moment.

From On Laboratory Arts by Richard Threlfall

Fortunately, however, so far as magnet wire is concerned, the so-called Brown and Sharpe, or American, wire gauge is almost universally employed in this country.

From Cyclopedia of Telephony & Telegraphy Vol. 1 A General Reference Work on Telephony, etc. etc. by Kempster Miller

A simple wire gauge is usually formed of a piece of steel containing numerous notches, whose widths are equal to the intended thickness to be measured in each respective notch.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

Thus, in the following table are given the gauge-numbers and their respective sizes in decimal parts of an inch, as determined by Holtzapffel in 1843, and to which sizes the Birmingham wire-gauge is made.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

The following table gives the numbers and sizes of the Birmingham wire-gauge.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

Below is given the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company’s music wire-gauge.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

A comparison between the Brown and Sharpe and the Birmingham wire-gauge is shown in Fig.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

This gauge is sometimes termed the Stubs wire-gauge, Mr. Stubs being a manufacturer of instruments whose notches are spaced according to the Birmingham wire-gauge.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose