ratchet : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: ratchet	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for ratchet
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
ratchet n mechanical device consisting of a toothed wheel or rack engaged with a pawl that permits it to move in only one direction Synonym(s): ratchet, rachet, ratch v move by degrees in one direction only; "a ratcheting lopping tool" Synonym(s): ratchet, rachet up, ratchet down
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Ratchet \Ratch"et\, n. [Properly a diminutive from the same word as rack: cf. F. rochet. See 2d {Ratch}, {Rack} the instrument.] 1. A pawl, click, or detent, for holding or propelling a ratchet wheel, or ratch, etc. 2. A mechanism composed of a ratchet wheel, or ratch, and pawl. See {Ratchet wheel}, below, and 2d {Ratch}. {Ratchet brace} (Mech.), a boring brace, having a ratchet wheel and pawl for rotating the tool by back and forth movements of the brace handle. {Ratchet drill}, a portable machine for working a drill by hand, consisting of a hand lever carrying at one end a drill holder which is revolved by means of a ratchet wheel and pawl, by swinging the lever back and forth. {Ratchet wheel} (Mach.), a circular wheel having teeth, usually angular, with which a reciprocating pawl engages to turn the wheel forward, or a stationary pawl to hold it from turning backward.