Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shift gears

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.62 in modern English

Syllables
shift gears
IPA
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To change the gear by which motion is transmitted from a powered shaft to another shaft, especially in a motor vehicle.

verb

To change pace or mode of operation.

Inflected Forms

shifts gears (present, singular) shifting gears (participle, present) shifted gears (participle, past) shifted gears (past)

Phrases

gear change automatic transmission drive stick manual transmission

Frequently Paired Words

gear change shifter stickshift automatic transmission drive stick gearbox manual transmission

Questions

What does shift gears mean?
To change the gear by which motion is transmitted from a powered shaft to another shaft, especially in a motor vehicle.

How to pronounce shift gears

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “shift gears”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “shift gears”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “shift gears” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.