<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>a toothed bar with which a pawl engages</li><li>(not in technical use) a pawl or the like used with a ratchet or ratchet wheel</li><li>a mechanism consisting of such a bar or wheel with the pawl</li><li>ratchet wheel (def)</li><li>a steady progression up or down: the upward ratchet of oil prices</li></ul><p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used with or without object) to move by degrees (often followed by up or down): to ratchet prices up; Interest rates have been ratcheting downward</li></ul>