ratchet
/ˈɹæt͡ʃɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.15 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A pawl, click, or detent for holding or propelling a ratchet wheel, or ratch, etc.
noun
A mechanism composed of a ratchet wheel, or ratch and pawl.
noun
noun
A procedure or regulation that goes in one direction, usually up.
noun
A mechanism for generating a new unique key for each message by moving forward in a sequence.
noun
A noisemaker or musical instrument where sound is generated by a board striking against a rotating gear.
noun
Ellipsis of full ratchet.
verb
To increment or decrement; especially, to offer controlled motion that can increment while resisting decrement, or vice versa.
Intransitive verb
Example Sentences
- "The threat of terrorism to the British lies in the overreaction to it of British governments. Each one in turn clicks up the ratchet of surveillance, intrusion and security. Each one diminishes liberty."
- "Ahead of them a group of mandibulous sales men had set up their combustion cups and incendiary ratchets to demonstrate their wares to whatever officers might come by."
- "This holddown ratchets, which allows the person loading the trailer to cinch down the straps."
- "Compared with the excellent scroll wheels on the Basilisk V3 and G502 X, the G203’s scroll wheel feels less defined and mushier in its ratcheting."
- "Get this holddown into position, but don't start ratcheting it yet. When I say go, you start ratcheting it, OK?"
- "It's time to ratchet up the intensity level here."
Etymology
Usage
- Intransitive verb
- Transitive verb
- American usage
- Derogatory
- Slang
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Music.
Inflected Forms
ratchets (plural)
rachet (alternative, archaic)
ratchets (present, singular)
ratcheting (participle, present)
ratcheted (participle, past)
ratcheted (past)
more ratchet (comparative)
most ratchet (superlative)