Dictionary

fourth gear en · NOUN

Etymology

The figurative sense reflects that in some times and places, fourth gear was the highest gear that a car could achieve; compare French en quatrième vitesse.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The fourth of the available gears in a transmission or other gearbox.
2. (countable, dated, idiomatic, uncountable) A maximal level of effort.
   • After all, he did the very same thing, pool and lunch, every Friday afternoon for five months—Friday perfect because it gave his cock a rest before the weekend, when it went into fourth gear. 2014, Paul Monette, The Gold Diggers: A Novel:
   • During the seventies, Shashi Kapoor went into fourth gear in Bollywood, while Merchant and Ivory made a slew of films, many of which were not set in India. 2009, Madhu Jain, The Kapoors: The First Family of Indian Cinema, page 243:

Forms

Coordinates

second gear · neutral · overdrive · top gear · low gear · third gear · first gear · fifth gear · angel gear

Relateds

upshift · downshift

Synonyms

full throttle · fourth · overdrive · top gear

Translations (3)

de vierter Gang (fourth gear of an engine) · pl czwarty bieg (fourth gear of an engine) · bg четвъ́рта преда́вка (fourth gear of an engine)