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Gage vs. Gauge
There are two gages: one refers to pledges or securities and is no longer in common general use, and the other is a variant spelling of gauge, which in the noun form refers broadly to measurement (“fine-gauge wire”) or a standard by which something is measured (“polls are a good gauge of how voters might vote”). The earliest evidence we have for the noun gauge goes back to the 15th century, when English spelling was not yet standardized, and the word in question was spelled gauge and gage with roughly equal frequency. Gauge began to be preferred in the late 19th century for most general uses. Some claim that gage appears as a variant more frequently in the U.S., though our evidence shows that the vast majority of uses for gage are from specialized and technical industries, such as mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and electronics, and that these uses of gage are global, not limited to the U.S. Nonetheless, total use of the word gage is small when compared to the total use of the word gauge.
The verb gauge, which refers to measuring or estimating, also has a variant gage. This variant appears to show up primarily in informal sources, though not often. Gauge is by far the preferred spelling in general usage for both the noun and the verb; we encourage you use it.
Synonyms
Examples of gauge in a Sentence
Alfred L. Malabre, Jr., Wall Street Journal, 26 July 1993
Verb
Through history, the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness.
—W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903
On the other hand, no one supposes that the intellect of any two animals or of any two men can be accurately gauged by the cubic contents of their skulls.
—Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 1871
Incommunicative as he was, some time elapsed before I had an opportunity of gauging his mind. I first got an idea of its calibre when I heard him preach in his own church at Morton.
—Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847
Home sales provide a useful way of gauging the overall state of the economy.
He accurately gauged the mood of the voters.
I was gauging her reaction to the news.
instruments for gauging temperature and humidity
Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 22 May 2024
One gauge of the global indifference: Countries have offered only 8% of what the U.N. needs to support refugees who have poured out of Sudan — including almost 600,000 who have reached Chad in the last year, 88% of whom are women or children.
—Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 18 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for gauge 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gauge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Gauge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gauge. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
gauge
1 of 2 noungauge
2 of 2 transitive verb
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