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   gauge

   /ɡeɪdʒ/

   noun

   • 1. an instrument that measures and gives a visual display of the amount, level, or contents of something: "a fuel gauge" Similar measuring instrumentmeasuring devicemetermeasureindicatordialscaleindexdisplay
   • ▪ a tool for checking whether something conforms to a desired dimension: "mark out the details of the angled surfaces with a knife and gauge"
   • ▪ a means of estimating something: "emigration is perhaps the best gauge of public unease" Similar measureindicatorbarometerbasisstandardpoint of referenceguideguidelinetouchstoneyardstickbenchmarkcriterionexamplemodelpatternformulaexemplarsampletestlitmus test
   • 2. the thickness, size, or capacity of something, especially as a standard measure. Similar sizemeasureextentdegreescopecapacitymagnitudewidthbreadthareathicknessspandepthheightborecalibrediameter
   • ▪ the diameter of a wire, fibre, tube, etc.: "a fine 0.018-inch gauge wire"
   • ▪ a measure of the diameter of a gun barrel, or of its ammunition, expressed as the number of spherical pieces of shot of the same diameter as the barrel that can be made from 1 lb (454 g) of lead: "a 12-gauge shotgun"
   • ▪ the thickness of sheet metal or plastic: "500-gauge polythene"
   • ▪ the distance between the rails of a line of railway track: "the line was laid to a gauge of 2 ft 9 ins"
   • 3. the position of a sailing ship to windward (the weather gage) or leeward (the lee gage) of another: archaic "the French fleet was heavily outnumbered but had the weather gage"

   verb

   • 1. estimate or determine the amount, level, or volume of: "astronomers can gauge the star's intrinsic brightness"
   • ▪ judge or assess (a situation, attitude, or feeling): "she was unable to gauge his mood" Similar assessevaluateappraiseanalyseweigh upget the measure ofjudgeadjudgeratereckondetermineestimateguessform an opinion ofform an impression ofmake up one's mind aboutinformal:guesstimatesize up
   • 2. measure the dimensions of (an object) with a gauge: "when dry, the assemblies can be gauged exactly and planed to width" Similar measurecalculatecomputework outdetermineascertaincountweighquantifyput a figure on

   Word Origin Middle English (denoting a standard measure): from Old French gauge (noun), gauger (verb), variant of Old Northern French jauge (noun), jauger (verb), of unknown origin.

   Derivatives

   • 1. gaugeable adjective
   • 2. gauger noun

   Scrabble Points: 7

   • G

     2

   • A

     1

   • U

     1

   • G

     2

   • E

     1

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