gauge

Universal Words (AmE also gage) noun, verb noun 1 (often in compounds) an instrument for measuring the amount or level of sth: a fuel / petrol / temperature gauge 2 a measurement of the width or thickness of sth: What gauge of wire do we need? 3 (also bore especially in BrE) a measurement of the width of the BARREL of a gun: a 12-gauge shotgun 4 the distance between the rails of a railway/railroad track or the wheels of a train: standard gauge (= 56ｽ inches in Britain) * a narrow gauge (= narrower than standard) railway / train 5 [usuallysing.] ~ (of sth) (written) a fact or an event that can be used to estimate or judge sth: Tomorrow's game against Arsenal will be a good gauge of their promotion chances. verb 1 to make a judgement about sth, especially people's feelings or attitudes: [VN] They interviewed employees to gauge their reaction to the changes. * He tried to gauge her mood. * [Vwh-] It was difficult to gauge whether she was angry or not. 2 [VN] to measure sth accurately using a special instrument: precision instruments that can gauge the diameter to a fraction of a millimetre 3 to calculate sth approximately: [VN] We were able to gauge the strength of the wind from the movement of the trees. * It is impossible to gauge the extent of the damage. [also Vwh-]