clothing vs gear

clothing

noun
  • An act or instance of putting clothes on. 

  • A covering of non-conducting material on the outside of a boiler, or steam chamber, to prevent radiation of heat. 

  • Any of a wide variety of articles, usually made of fabrics, animal hair, animal skin, or some combination thereof, used to cover the human body for warmth, to preserve modesty, or for fashion. 

gear

noun
  • Clothing; garments. 

  • Recreational drugs, including steroids. 

  • 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. 

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

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

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. 

adj
  • great or fantastic 

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