ratchet wheel
- noun
- /ˈræʧɪt wɪl/
:
rueda de trinquete
- As the ratchet wheel clicked into place, it secured the mechanism for a smoother operation.
Examples
-
The clickity-clicks of the ratchet wheel turning were a good sign that the latest fix on the typewriter was a good one and the machine was taking it well.
Blog text (14) -
Both explored the use of ratchet wheels to produce a more useful rotary motion.
Academic text (2003) -
The nuclear device has a small sled with ratchet wheels to let it slide down the hole slowly.
Fiction book (1998) -
Stop! Rams it into the wheels of the nuke's ratchet-wheel delivery sled.
Fiction book (1998) -
A.J. pulls the piece of tubular aluminum out of the nuke's ratchet wheel delivery sled.
Fiction book (1998) -
The mechanic replaced the worn-out ratchet wheel to ensure the power tool functioned properly.
-
To adjust the tension, the technician turned the ratchet wheel carefully with a lever.
Synonyms
17
7.1
A device with a toothed wheel and a catch that lets movement go in only one direction
A wheel with teeth and a catch that lets the wheel move one way only
How Complex
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'ratchet' denotes a toothed mechanism with a pawl that prevents reversal and 'wheel' denotes a rotating circular object, so the combined form clearly refers to a wheel that functions as a ratchet. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift — this is a technical, literal naming pattern common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Ratchet wheel comes from the image of a simple machine: a wheel with teeth like a saw and a small pawl, a catch, that lets the wheel turn one way but stops it from going back. So, a ratchet wheel today means a wheel that allows movement in 'one direction' and prevents backward motion.