# fourth gear

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/fourth-gear
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A maximal level of effort.

## Examples

- He finally shifted into fourth gear to finish his work.
- You need to find fourth gear if you want to pass this exam.
- She stays in fourth gear until every task on her list is done.
- With the deadline only an hour away, the team shifted into fourth gear to complete the project.
- The kitchen staff hit fourth gear as the restaurant suddenly filled with hungry customers during the lunch rush.
- After a slow start to the morning, I finally reached fourth gear and cleaned the entire house before noon.
- The charity workers moved into fourth gear to organize all the donations before the storm arrived.
- Recognizing that the competition was closing the gap, the athlete shifted into fourth gear and sprinted toward the finish line.

## Origin

The figurative sense arises from a period in automotive history when fourth gear represented the highest speed a vehicle could achieve. It is a mechanical superlative, parallel to the French expression *en quatrième vitesse*, denoting the final stage of acceleration before a car reached its limit.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.