Ratchet

How to spell ratchet

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce ratchet

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ratchet mean?

1. nounA toothed wheel or bar with a catch that allows movement in one direction only.
2. verbTo increase or change something in a series of small, irreversible steps.

Ratchet in a sentence

• noun

  The mechanic tightened the bolt with a ratchet and a long socket.

• verb

  The board planned to ratchet up production over the next three quarters.

• noun

  The winch held the load because a ratchet stopped the drum from unwinding.

• verb

  Rising fuel costs continue to ratchet pressure onto household budgets.

Where does ratchet come from?

Language of origin: French

Ratchet entered English in the seventeenth century as a name for a toothed wheel or bar that turns or moves freely in one direction while a catch, or pawl, stops it slipping back. The word is an altered form of the earlier English 'rocket' and the French 'rochet', which meant a bobbin or spool, and which traces back through Italian 'rocchetto', a diminutive of 'rocca' meaning a distaff (the staff that holds wool for spinning). That term itself came from a Germanic source related to spinning equipment. The spelling drifted to 'ratchet' under the pull of the English dialect word 'ratch', meaning a notched bar or rail, which made the new form feel native and descriptive. The doubled idea worth remembering for spelling is the single 't' in the middle and the '-tchet' ending: it is 'rat' plus 'chet', not 'rachet'.

How the word is built

• ratchet (one inseparable root; English form of French rochet, a notched device); no separable prefix or suffix