gearbox
Pluralgearboxes
- 1The part of a car's transmission that holds the train of gears and connects to the gearshift.
The mechanic replaced the worn gearbox in my old hatchback before the road trip.
A grinding noise from the gearbox warned her that the synchronizers were failing.
Similartransmission
Note
Here the general engineering term narrows to the one gear train a driver works by hand. It is easily confused with transmission, but the two are not the same: transmission names the whole system that carries power to the wheels, and the gearbox is only the part of it that holds the gears and that the gear lever reaches into.
- 2A train of meshing gears enclosed within a single protective housing.
Wind turbines use a gearbox to raise the rotor's slow rotation to the speed the generator needs.
Industrial gearboxes are sealed to keep out dust and hold in their lubricant.
Similartransmission
Practice
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Origin
Formed from the words "gear" and "box".