ratchet

Plural: ratchets

Noun

• A mechanism allowing movement in one direction only.
• mechanical device consisting of a toothed wheel or rack engaged with a pawl that permits it to move in only one direction
• A pawl, click, or detent for holding or propelling a ratchet wheel, or ratch, etc.
• A mechanism composed of a ratchet wheel, or ratch and pawl.
• A ratchet wrench.
• A procedure or regulation that goes in one direction, usually up.
• A noisemaker or musical instrument where sound is generated by a board striking against a rotating gear.
• Ellipsis of full ratchet.
• A person, usually a female, who acts or behaves in a ghetto, unseemly, or indecorous way or manner.

Verb

• move by degrees in one direction only
  • "a ratcheting lopping tool"
• To increment or decrement; especially, to offer controlled motion that can increment while resisting decrement, or vice versa.
• To cause (something) to become incremented or decremented.

Adj

• Ghetto; unseemly, indecorous.

Examples

• Get this holddown into position, but don't start ratcheting it yet. When I say go, you start ratcheting it, OK?
• His score moved up like a ratchet, gaining points steadily with each play.
• It's time to ratchet up the intensity level here.
• This holddown ratchets, which allows the person loading the trailer to cinch down the straps.

Synonyms

rachet, rachet up, ratch, ratchet down

Anagrams of ratchet