gear up

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

gear up
    v 1: make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular
         purpose or for some use, event, etc; "Get the children
         ready for school!"; "prepare for war"; "I was fixing to
         leave town after I paid the hotel bill" [syn: {fix},
         {prepare}, {set up}, {ready}, {gear up}, {set}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

gear up \gear` up"\ n.
   To prepare (for an event or activity); as, to gear up for the
   election campaign.
   [PJC]