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ratcheted - 2 dictionary results

ratch⋅et

  [rach-it]
Use ratcheted in a Sentence
–noun
1. a toothed bar with which a pawl engages.
2. (not in technical use) a pawl or the like used with a ratchet or ratchet wheel.
3. a mechanism consisting of such a bar or wheel with the pawl.
4. ratchet wheel.
5. a steady progression up or down: the upward ratchet of oil prices.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
6. to move by degrees (often fol. by up or down): to ratchet prices up; Interest rates have been ratcheting downward.
Origin:
1650–60; alter. of F rochet; MF rocquet a blunt lance-head < Gmc
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ratcheted
ratch·et   (rāch'ĭt)   
n.  
  1. A mechanism consisting of a pawl that engages the sloping teeth of a wheel or bar, permitting motion in one direction only.
  2. The pawl, wheel, or bar of this mechanism.
v.   ratch·et·ed, ratch·et·ing, ratch·ets

v.   tr.
To cause to increase or decrease by increments: "Some companies . . . may make things worse if they seek to ratchet down their medical expenses by limiting benefits for psychological or psychiatric care" (Newsweek).
v.   intr.
To increase or decrease by increments.

[French rochet, from Old French rocquet, head of a lance (from the shape of the teeth), of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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