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Glite Dictionary
out of gear

out of gear

1 4.6
The gears are not engaged so the engine does not move the wheels
  • idiom
  • Specialized
translation icon : fuera de marcha
  • Is it out of gear?
  • the engine is out of gear
  • the car is out of gear
  • the motor is out of gear

All of a sudden she saw a car slip out of gear on a hill from beside a Rd.

Examples

  • Carlisle's taxi stopped, and the driver took it out of gear, opened his door, and went to join a small group that had gathered to give help.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • All of a sudden she saw a car slip out of gear on a hill from beside a Rd.

    Evan Carmichael

  • Knocking the boat out of gear, I ran below to wake the crew.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • It throws you out of gear.

    Ninotchka (1939)

  • I threw the boat out of gear to drift while I ran topside to listen to the reports from the fleet.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • When the divers are ready to enter the water, the support boat is turned away from the towrope, and the motor is taken out of gear.

    Academic text (1991)

  • I slowed the boat's engine and threw her out of gear as the beeper floated down the side of the hull.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • - IT'S OUT OF GEAR, RIGHT ? -

    Slow Burn (2000)

  • On the pilot's signal, the support boat's motor is taken out of gear, and the divers kick free of the sled and swim to the support boat.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Before parking, she always makes sure to put the car out of gear.

Synonyms

ungeared
vsout of gear
  • Specialized
9.3

Not connected to the parts that make a machine move

is the multiword alternative rather than a single adjective form

Antonyms

in gear
22 3.6

With the gears engaged so a car or machine can move when the engine runs

How Engaged

engaged
  • Specialized
7.0
out of gear
  • Specialized
1 4.6
disengaged
  • Specialized
4.4

Surface Forms

out of gear positive

Morphology

out + of + gear

The phrase 'out of gear' is directly compositional: the prepositional phrase 'out of' indicates absence or removal and 'gear' refers to the mechanical transmission, so the meaning 'not in gear / gears disengaged' follows straightforwardly from the constituents. This is a common, cross-linguistic way to express disengagement from a mechanism and would be predictable to a B1 learner who knows the component words.

Etymology

The phrase out of gear comes from machines and cars where a gear is a wheel with teeth that must touch another to pass power. If the teeth are apart the gears do not work together, so the machine is 'not sending power', and today out of gear means the gears are not connected and the machine will not move its parts.