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
Recent Examples on the Web
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, ribs are devoured, beer is guzzled and, when conflict ratchets up, shots are thrown back.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Disappointed climate activists will be pushing to turn the ratchet further as soon as politics permit.
—The Editors, National Review, 11 Mar. 2024
In 2023, ratchet party rap reemerged in popularity, and Sexyy led the charge with music and energy reminiscent of iconic voices like Waka Flocka Flame and Chief Keef.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 9 Jan. 2024
On May 17, Aubrey Scaletta, her dad and twin sister were driving home from gymnastics practice when a portion of the ratchet strap that Aubrey was playing with flew out of the truck's window and attached itself to the drive shaft.
—David Chiu, Peoplemag, 26 Dec. 2023
The coming of congestion pricing ratchets up the urgency of that transformation.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 12 Dec. 2023
The third season ratchets up the contrast between Slough House and its glitzy counterpart, the Park, where the agents are in good standing, the lights are bright and the staff is stylish, safe and well-funded.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023
Nightlife in Tampa is more ratchet and just fun and spontaneous.
—Nia Decaille, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Kelly Sims Gallagher, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
The heat wave also ratcheted up fire danger, breaking a slew of fire weather records over a broad area and helping to stoke blazes in British Columbia, California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Montana.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024
The efforts to ratchet down tensions between Israel and Iran played out as Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its sixth month, continued on Saturday with reports of a deadly assault in southern Gaza.
—Luis Ferré-Sadurní, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
The security warning comes after an Israeli airstrike hit an Iranian embassy building in Damascus, Syria on April 1, killing at least seven Iranian officials and ratcheting up fears of a regional war.
—Mallory Moench, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The news quickly ratcheted up the rhetoric among Democrats, who are divided on whether now is the time to raise taxes.
—Erin Cox, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
The developments come one year after tensions between the U.S. and China ratcheted to new heights after a Chinese balloon carrying sophisticated spying equipment flew over the continental U.S. for several days.
—Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2024
This was a direct provocation to the Somali leadership in Mogadishu and ratcheted up tensions between Somalia and Somaliland.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
But as violence has ratcheted up in the last several months, the United Nations’ latest plan — drafted by the United States and Ecuador — is to send Kenyan troops in to police Haiti.
—Char Adams, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
Still, the content was pretty good and is now finding new homes as real movies, not a piecemeal experiment: Director Veena Sud's thriller ratchets up the suspense with Maika Monroe playing a rideshare driver and Dane DeHaan as the creepiest passenger ever.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, ribs are devoured, beer is guzzled and, when conflict ratchets up, shots are thrown back.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Disappointed climate activists will be pushing to turn the ratchet further as soon as politics permit.
—The Editors, National Review, 11 Mar. 2024
In 2023, ratchet party rap reemerged in popularity, and Sexyy led the charge with music and energy reminiscent of iconic voices like Waka Flocka Flame and Chief Keef.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 9 Jan. 2024
On May 17, Aubrey Scaletta, her dad and twin sister were driving home from gymnastics practice when a portion of the ratchet strap that Aubrey was playing with flew out of the truck's window and attached itself to the drive shaft.
—David Chiu, Peoplemag, 26 Dec. 2023
The coming of congestion pricing ratchets up the urgency of that transformation.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 12 Dec. 2023
The third season ratchets up the contrast between Slough House and its glitzy counterpart, the Park, where the agents are in good standing, the lights are bright and the staff is stylish, safe and well-funded.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023
Nightlife in Tampa is more ratchet and just fun and spontaneous.
—Nia Decaille, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Verb
Countries that have successfully reduced emissions started early and then phased in their policies over time to build political support and momentum, steadily ratcheting up the scale of these measures.
—Kelly Sims Gallagher, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
The heat wave also ratcheted up fire danger, breaking a slew of fire weather records over a broad area and helping to stoke blazes in British Columbia, California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Montana.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024
The efforts to ratchet down tensions between Israel and Iran played out as Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its sixth month, continued on Saturday with reports of a deadly assault in southern Gaza.
—Luis Ferré-Sadurní, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
The security warning comes after an Israeli airstrike hit an Iranian embassy building in Damascus, Syria on April 1, killing at least seven Iranian officials and ratcheting up fears of a regional war.
—Mallory Moench, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The news quickly ratcheted up the rhetoric among Democrats, who are divided on whether now is the time to raise taxes.
—Erin Cox, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
The developments come one year after tensions between the U.S. and China ratcheted to new heights after a Chinese balloon carrying sophisticated spying equipment flew over the continental U.S. for several days.
—Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2024
This was a direct provocation to the Somali leadership in Mogadishu and ratcheted up tensions between Somalia and Somaliland.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
But as violence has ratcheted up in the last several months, the United Nations’ latest plan — drafted by the United States and Ecuador — is to send Kenyan troops in to police Haiti.
—Char Adams, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2024
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 26 Apr. 2024.
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