ratchet
1a toothed bar with which a pawl engages.
(not in technical use) a pawl or the like used with a ratchet or ratchet wheel.
a mechanism consisting of such a bar or wheel with the pawl.
a steady progression up or down: the upward ratchet of oil prices.
to move by degrees (often followed by up or down): to ratchet prices up; Interest rates have been ratcheting downward.
Origin of ratchet
1Other definitions for ratchet (2 of 2)
flashy, unrefined, etc.; low-class: ratchet girls wearing too much makeup.
exhibiting or affirming low-class traits in a way that is considered authentic: Better to stay a ratchet bitch than become a bougie poser like her.
extremely good; awesome.
Origin of ratchet
2- Also ratched [racht] /rætʃt/ .
Other words from ratchet
- ratch·et·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ratchet in a sentence
Lisa Halverstadt reports that the spike in cases has ratcheted up calls to move more homeless San Diegans into hotel rooms, a safer option, according to health experts.
Morning Report: The Coronavirus Is Ravaging the Convention Center Shelter | Voice of San Diego | December 18, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoThe positive cases have also inspired advocates to ratchet up longstanding calls to instead move homeless San Diegans into hotel rooms that health experts have also deemed safer options.
The Convention Center Coronavirus Outbreak Was Inevitable | Lisa Halverstadt | December 17, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoLast week Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock from neutral to buy, ratcheting up their 12-month price target from $455 to $780.
JP Morgan warns investors that Tesla stock is ‘dramatically’ overvalued in new report | Lee Clifford | December 11, 2020 | FortuneThe addition of major movies to several streamers’ slates could ratchet things up even more.
‘Marketing at maximum intensity’: Publishers ready for rocketing ad spending from streamers in 2021 | Max Willens | December 9, 2020 | DigidayMobileye has since ratcheted up its self-driving ambitions and taken what some in the industry see as an unlikely turn to become a robotaxi operator, not just a supplier.
Mobileye taps Luminar to supply lidar for its robotaxi fleet | Kirsten Korosec | November 20, 2020 | TechCrunch
How do peaceful, non-antagonistic peoples prevent certain individuals from ratcheting up rage and creating divisive groups?
The End of Us And Them: David Cannadine’s Quest to Unite History | Jimmy So | May 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIn response to rising demand for durable goods like autos, companies have been ratcheting up production.
Economic Data Show That, at Last, (Many of) the Fundamentals Are Sound | Daniel Gross | April 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTYou can ratchet down sanctions, but ratcheting down war is sometimes out of your hands.
Khrushchev said he would remove them “in due course,” but did he need some prodding by ratcheting up the blockade?
The Commander-in-Chief Test: What the Cuban Missile Crisis Tells Us About JFK | David G. Coleman | October 16, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe algorithm is forever ratcheting up spending and ratcheting down revenues.
Why Jerry Brown’s Bid to Fix California’s Budget Isn’t Working | Joe Mathews | May 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
British Dictionary definitions for ratchet
/ (ˈrætʃɪt) /
a device in which a toothed rack or wheel is engaged by a pawl to permit motion in one direction only
the toothed rack or wheel forming part of such a device
to operate using a ratchet
(usually foll by up or down) to increase or decrease, esp irreversibly: electricity prices will ratchet up this year; Hitchcock ratchets up the tension once again
Origin of ratchet
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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