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Glite Dictionary
low gear

low gear

2 3.2
A lower setting in a vehicle that gives more power and less speed for starting and climbing
  • noun
  • /loʊ ɡɪr/
translation icon : caja baja
  • I drove in low gear at ten miles an hour.
  • shift to low gear
  • stay in low gear
  • drive in low gear

Examples

  • Nathan heard Mack shift the truck into a lower gear as the hill got steeper.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • He drove slowly and steadily in a low gear; he had not forgotten how to drive in winter.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Just then, I heard the motor of the hunting car start and heard the car coming fast in low gear.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • You wanna use your low gear going down the road or your brakes'll go.

    Shooter (2007)

  • An ambulance passed and then a jeep, slowly, in whining low gear.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Silviu followed the man, crawling along in low gear to a turnoff twenty yards ahead.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • We were bouncing over the washboard road, the bus scrunching loudly in low gear.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The tractor trailer rumbles in low gear along a sparsely populated two-lane road.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Jack's high-bodied pickup growls in low gear as it drives past Merritt's Shell station toward Saddleback Ridge.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The truck climbed the steep hill easily because it was in low gear.

Synonyms

low
vslow gear
  • Specialized
3 6.8

The forward gear used for starting or extra power

is used more broadly for starting climbing and hard driving
first gear
vslow gear
3 2.8

A gear in a car that makes the car move slowly when you start

is used also for climbing and difficult driving beyond starting
first
vslow gear
5.4

The lowest gear in a car that you use to start moving

is broader covering starting plus climbing and hard conditions

Antonyms

high gear
13 3.7

A forward setting in a vehicle that lets it go fastest with low engine speed

How Fast

top gear
  • Informal
1 3.8
high gear
13 3.7
third gear
1 3.4
second gear
3 2.5
low gear
2 3.2

Surface Forms

low gear singular
low gears plural

Morphology

low + gear

The noun phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'low' (indicating lesser speed/position) modifying 'gear' (a vehicle transmission setting), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a gear for low speed. This is a common, literal vehicle-term pattern (found across languages), so the overall meaning is immediately recoverable even if fine technical details like torque are not known.

Etymology

Low gear comes from driving: putting the car into a low gear gives the engine more power but less speed, so the vehicle moves slowly and can start or climb hills. That's why low gear means 'a gear position used for starting, climbing, or driving in difficult conditions'.