[rach-it] 
| 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. |
| 6. | to move by degrees (often fol. by up or down): to ratchet prices up; Interest rates have been ratcheting downward. |
| ratch·et (rāch'ĭt) n.
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.] |