apparatus vs gear

apparatus

noun
  • An assortment of tools and instruments. 

  • The entirety of means whereby a specific production is made existent or task accomplished. 

  • A complex machine or instrument. 

  • A vehicle used for emergency response. 

  • A bureaucratic organization, especially one influenced by political patronage. 

  • Any of the equipment on which the gymnasts perform their movements. 

  • A complex, highly modified weapon (typically not a firearm); a weaponized “Rube Goldberg machine.” 

gear

noun
  • Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor. 

  • Recreational drugs, including steroids. 

  • Clothing; garments. 

  • A wheel with grooves (teeth) engraved on the outer circumference, such that two such devices can interlock and convey motion from one to the other; a gear wheel. 

  • A configuration of the transmission of a motor car so as to achieve a particular ratio of engine to axle torque. 

  • A particular combination or choice of interlocking gears, such that a particular gear ratio is achieved. 

adj
  • great or fantastic 

verb
  • To provide with gearing; to fit with gears in order to achieve a desired gear ratio. 

  • To dress; to put gear on; to harness. 

  • To design or devise (something) so as to be suitable (for a particular type of person or a particular purpose). 

  • To borrow money in order to invest it in assets. 

  • To be in, or come into, gear. 

How often have the words apparatus and gear occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )