variants
or less commonly rachet
1
: a mechanism that consists of a bar or wheel having inclined teeth into which a pawl drops so that motion can be imparted to the wheel or bar, governed, or prevented and that is used in a hand tool (such as a wrench or screwdriver) to allow effective motion in one direction only
2
: a pawl or detent for holding or propelling a toothed wheel
variants
or less commonly rachet
ratcheted also racheted; ratcheting also racheting; ratchets also rachets
: to cause to move by steps or degrees
—usually used with up or down
tried to ratchet down the debt
: to proceed by steps or degrees
Synonyms
Examples of ratchet in a Sentence
Verb
news stories about the kidnapping will ratchet down as the weeks go by
Recent Examples on the Web
Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
Requiring pollution controls and considering the environmental impacts of new projects made sense in the 1970s; tightening the ratchet afterward until industrial investments faced prohibitive risks and costs did not.
—Oren Cass, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2021
Elise Hannum, The Atlantic, 20 June 2024
The crowd’s hope started to wear thin as the period stretched on without an equalizer, and the tension ratcheted up when Dmitry Kulikov was penalized for tripping, sending the Oilers back to the power play with 7:32 remaining.
—Bailey Johnson, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ratchet 
Noun
The types of weapons featured in the scene ratchet up with each reveal, from a knife to an entire bedpost Ron pulls out of his blazer to various medieval torture tools.
—Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
Requiring pollution controls and considering the environmental impacts of new projects made sense in the 1970s; tightening the ratchet afterward until industrial investments faced prohibitive risks and costs did not.
—Oren Cass, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2021
Verb
Read: Daisy Jones and the trap of the love triangle
As the recording sessions drag out, the tensions ratchet up; some scenes begin after midnight.
—Elise Hannum, The Atlantic, 20 June 2024
The crowd’s hope started to wear thin as the period stretched on without an equalizer, and the tension ratcheted up when Dmitry Kulikov was penalized for tripping, sending the Oilers back to the power play with 7:32 remaining.
—Bailey Johnson, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ratchet
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ratchet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ratchet
Cite this Entry
“Ratchet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ratchet. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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