Definition of "ratchet" in Anglais

noun

1. A pawl, click, or detent for holding or propelling a ratchet wheel, or ratch, etc.

2. A mechanism composed of a ratchet wheel, or ratch and pawl.

3. A ratchet wrench.

4. (by extension) A procedure or regulation that goes in one direction, usually up.

5. (cryptography) A mechanism for generating a new unique key for each message by moving forward in a sequence.

6. A noisemaker or musical instrument where sound is generated by a board striking against a rotating gear.

7. (finance) Ellipsis of full ratchet.

verb

1. (intransitive) To increment or decrement; especially, to offer controlled motion that can increment while resisting decrement, or vice versa.

   • This holddown ratchets, which allows the person loading the trailer to cinch down the straps.

2. (transitive) To cause (something) to become incremented or decremented.

   • Get this holddown into position, but don't start ratcheting it yet. When I say go, you start ratcheting it, OK?
   • It's time to ratchet up the intensity level here.

adjective

1. (US, slang, derogatory) Ghetto; unseemly, indecorous.

noun

1. (US, slang, derogatory) A person, usually a female, who acts or behaves in a ghetto, unseemly, or indecorous way or manner.