detent

American  

[dih-tent] / dɪˈtɛnt /

noun

Machinery.

1. a mechanism that temporarily keeps one part in a certain position relative to that of another, and can be released by applying force to one of the parts.

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detent British  

/ dɪˈtɛnt /

noun

1. the locking piece of a mechanism, often spring-loaded to check the movement of a wheel in one direction only See also pawl

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Etymology

Origin of detent

1680–90; < French détente, Old French destente, derivative of destendre to relax, equivalent to des- dis- ¹ + tendre to stretch; tender ²

Example Sentences

Turning the lid controls the system volume, with clicky detents giving you some physical feedback.

From The Verge

Hardly daring to hope, I pushed the throttle through the detent to select minimum reheat… and sure enough, it lit with no problem at all.

From BBC

The front of the camera is still dominated by the fixed 23mm f/2.0 lens, which has been improved with a better grip on the manual focus ring and third-stop detents for the aperture ring.

From The Verge

The change was made to the portion of the switch that holds the ignition key in place as it clicks between off, accessory and on positions, called the detent plunger and spring.

From Reuters

“We certainly did not approve a detent plunger switch change.”

From New York Times