Akademik

gear consisting of a shaft with screw thread (the worm) that meshes with a toothed wheel (the worm wheel); changes the direction of the axis of rotary motion

1. : worm wheel

2. : a gear of a worm and a worm wheel working together

1. a mechanism consisting of a worm engaging with and driving a worm wheel, the two axes usually being at right angles, used where a relatively low speed and a relatively large amplification of power are desired.

2. Also called worm wheel. a gear wheel driven by a worm.

Also, wormgear.

[1875-80]

worm gear noun

A gear connecting shafts whose axes are at right angles but do not intersect, consisting of a core carrying a single- or multi-start helical thread of special form (the worm), meshing in sliding contact with a concave-face gear-wheel (the worm wheel)

Main Entry: ↑worm

worm gear,

1. = worm wheel. (Cf. ↑worm wheel)

2. a worm wheel and an endless screw together. By a worm gear the rotary motion of one shaft can be transmitted to another.

n. a mechanical arrangement consisting of a toothed wheel worked by a short revolving cylinder (worm) bearing a screw thread