<B>gauge, </B>noun, verb, <B>gauged,</B> <B>gauging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>Often, <B>gage.</B> a standard measure or scale of standard measurements; measure. There are gauges of the capacity of a barrel, the thickness of sheet iron, or the diameter of a wire. <DD><B> 2. </B>Often, <B>gage.</B> an instrument for measuring or for regulating tools or parts to standard dimensions. <BR> <I>Ex. Gauges are used to measure such quantities as pressure, temperature, water level, and thickness (Otto A. Uyehara).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a means of estimating or judging. <BR> <I>Ex. The gauge of a pensioner's disability is always his unfitness to do manual work (Century Magazine).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>size; capacity; extent. <BR> <I>Ex. The broadening of gauge in crinolines seemed to demand an agitation (George Eliot).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>the diameter of the bore of a firearm, especially a shotgun, in terms of the number of lead balls of the same diameter that would weigh a pound. A 12-gauge shotgun requires 12 such balls. <DD><B> 6. </B>the distance between rails of a railroad or between the right and left wheels of a wagon, automobile, or other vehicle. The standard gauge between rails in the United States is 56 1/2 inches. <DD><B> 7. </B>the position of one sailing ship with reference to another and to the winds. A ship having the weather gauge of another is to the windward of it. <DD><B> 8. </B>the fineness of a knitted fabric as expressed in the number of loops per 1 1/2 inches. <BR> <I>Ex. 51-gauge stockings.</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>the depth to which a loaded ship sinks in the water. <DD><B> 10. </B>the length of the exposed part of shingles, tiles, or the like, when laid in rows. <DD><B> 11. </B>the proportion of plaster of Paris mixed with common plaster to speed up its setting. <DD><B> 12. </B>a tool for marking lines parallel to an edge. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to measure accurately; find out the exact measurement of with a gauge. <BR> <I>Ex. The carpenter gauged the dowel with calipers.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to determine the capacity or content of (a cask or similar vessel) by combined measurement and calculation. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative,) to estimate; judge. <BR> <I>Ex. It is difficult to gauge the character of a stranger.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to render conformable to a standard. <DD><B> 5. </B>to cut or rub (bricks or stones) accurately to the desired size. <DD><B> 6. </B>to prepare (plaster) with a certain proportion of plaster of Paris to speed up its setting. <DD><B> 7. </B>to gather in parallel rows in sewing. Also, <B>gage.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>take the gauge of,</B> </I>to figure the capacity, extent, dimensions, or proportions of. <BR> <I>Ex. to take the gauge of a man's ability.</I> adj. <B>gaugeable.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="gaugeblock">
<B>gauge block,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a rectangular block of hard, precision-ground, polished metal, usually steel, used to set and control the tolerance of other gauges, such as micrometers. </DL>
<A NAME="gaugeparticle">
<B>gauge particle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Nuclear Physics.) any of a group of elementary particles whose function is to transmit forces between other particles. <BR> <I>Ex. When the Sun lights the earth, the energy is transmitted ... by photons, the gauge particles of electromagnetism. And when the Earth attracts the Moon, the two exchange gravitons, the gauge particles for gravity (John Schwartz).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gaugepressure">
<B>gauge pressure,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the amount by which the pressure at a point in a fluid exceeds the pressure of the atmosphere. </DL>
<A NAME="gauger">
<B>gauger, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that gauges. <DD><B> 2. </B>an official who measures the contents of barrels of taxable liquor. <DD><B> 3. </B>a collector of excise taxes. </DL>
<A NAME="gaugetheory">
<B>gauge theory,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Physics,) any theory that attempts to establish relationships between fundamental forces such as gravity, electromagnetism, the weak force, and the like. <BR> <I>Ex. The existence of charm has been predicted by a powerful set of theories of the fundamental forces, the gauge theories, and this discovery established those theories (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gaugingrod">
<B>gauging rod,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument for measuring the capacity or contents of a cask or barrel for purposes of excise or duty. </DL>
<A NAME="gaul">
<B>Gaul, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an ancient region in western Europe. It included what is now France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, and northern Italy. <DD><B> 2. </B>one of the Celtic inhabitants of ancient Gaul. <DD><B> 3. </B>a Frenchman. <DD><B> 4. </B>France. </DL>
<A NAME="gauleiter">
<B>gauleiter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a high official of the Nazi Party who served as governor of a district in Germany or other parts of Europe under German control. The gauleiter was Hitler's chief deputy in a district. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a subordinate who carries out unscrupulous or criminal orders; henchman. <BR> <I>Ex. In the murky world of politics and crime, he was ... overlord of the rackets and American gauleiter (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gaulish">
<B>Gaulish, </B>adjective noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with ancient Gaul or the Gauls. <DD><I>noun </I> the Celtic language of the ancient Gauls. </DL>
<A NAME="gaullism">
<B>Gaullism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the political doctrines and policies of Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970. <DD><B> 2. </B>support of Charles de Gaulle and his policies. </DL>
<A NAME="gaullist">
<B>Gaullist, </B>noun adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a political follower and supporter of Charles de Gaulle. <DD><I>adj. </I> of, having to do with, or supporting de Gaulle or Gaullism. </DL>
<A NAME="gault">
<B>gault, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Geology,) a series of beds of clay and marl of the Cretaceous system, occurring in southern England. <DD><B> 2. </B>(British,) a thick, heavy clay. </DL>
<A NAME="gaultheria">
<B>gaultheria, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of a large group of aromatic evergreen shrubs of the heath family, such as the wintergreen. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Pharmacy,) oil of wintergreen. </DL>
<A NAME="gaum">
<B>gaum</B> (1), transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to smear or daub with something greasy or sticky. </DL>
<B>gaumless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Dialect,) without understanding; foolish. </DL>
<A NAME="gaunt">
<B>gaunt, </B>adjective verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>very thin and bony; with hollow eyes and a starved look. <BR> <I>Ex. Hunger and suffering had made the lost hikers gaunt.</I> (SYN) lean, spare, lank. <DD><B> 2. </B>such as to cause leanness or emaciation. <BR> <I>Ex. gaunt poverty.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>looking bare and gloomy; desolate; forbidding; grim. <BR> <I>Ex. the gaunt slopes of a high mountain in winter.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make lean or haggard. <BR> <I>Ex. ... a woman with an eroded face, a body gaunted by diet (John D. MacDonald).</I> adv. <B>gauntly.</B> noun <B>gauntness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="gauntlet">
<B>gauntlet</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an iron glove which was part of a knight's armor in the Middle Ages. A gauntlet was made usually of leather covered with plates of metal. <DD><B> 2. </B>a stout, heavy glove with a deep, flaring cuff covering part of the arm, used especially in riding or fencing. <DD><B> 3. </B>the wide, flaring cuff. Also, <B>gantlet.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>take</B> (or <B>pick</B>) <B>up the gauntlet,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to accept a challenge. </I> <I>Ex. The champion took up the gauntlet of the challenger.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to take up the defense of a person or viewpoint. <BR> <I>Ex. [She] had thrown down her gauntlet to him, and he had not been slow in picking it up (Anthony Trollope).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>throw down the gauntlet,</B> </I>to give a challenge. The medieval custom was to throw down a glove or gauntlet in challenging an opponent. <BR> <I>Ex. The gauntlet has been thrown down to the Democratic political machine (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<B>gaur, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large, wild ox of India, Burma, and Malaya, with a broad, protuberant forehead and long, curved, sharp horns, probably the wild stock of the gayal. </DL>
<A NAME="gauss">
<B>gauss, </B>noun, pl. <B>gauss</B> or <B>gausses.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Physics.) <DD><B> 1. </B>the unit of magnetic induction or magnetic flux density in the centimeter-gram-second system, equivalent to one maxwell per square centimeter. <BR> <I>Ex. The difficulty about the earth's field is that it is extremely weak--only about half a gauss (Scientific American).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=oersted </B>(def. 1). </DL>
<A NAME="gaussage">
<B>gaussage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the intensity of a magnetic field expressed in gausses. </DL>
<A NAME="gaussian">
<B>Gaussian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> discovered or formulated by Karl Friedrich Gauss. </DL>
<A NAME="gaussiancurve">
<B>Gaussian curve</B> or <B>distribution,</B> <B>=normal curve or distribution.</B></DL>
<A NAME="gaussivity">
<B>gaussivity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the intensity of magnetizing force expressed in gilberts per square centimeter or in gausses. </DL>
<A NAME="gaussmeter">
<B>gaussmeter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument for measuring the intensity of a magnetic field. </DL>
<A NAME="gautama">
<B>Gautama, </B>noun. <B>=Buddha.</B></DL>
<A NAME="gauze">
<B>gauze, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a very thin, light cloth, easily seen through. Gauze is made of silk, linen, rayon, or cotton and is used as a fabric and often for bandages. <DD><B> 2. </B>a thinly woven, open material resembling this fabric. <BR> <I>Ex. Wire gauze is used for screens.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative,) a thin haze. <BR> <I>Ex. And in circles, Purple gauzes, golden hazes, liquid mazes, Flung the torrent rainbow round (Tennyson).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> like gauze; made of gauze. <BR> <I>Ex. gauze curtains fluttering before an open window.</I> adj. <B>gauzelike.</B> </DL>
