noun
worm gear
A gear consisting of a worm (screw) that meshes with a worm wheel; used in machinery for high reduction ratios and self-locking.
See also: ウォームギヤ
この装置にはウォーム歯車が使われている。
This device uses a worm gear.
Often used interchangeably with ウォーム歯車, but ウォームギヤ can refer to the entire worm gear set or the worm itself.
From English 'worm gear', with 歯車 (haguruma, 'gear') appended as a Japanese explanatory element.