pawl

[ pawl ]

/ pɔl /

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noun

a pivoted bar adapted to engage with the teeth of a ratchet wheel or the like so as to prevent movement or to impart motion.

verb (used with object)

to check or hold with a pawl.

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Origin of pawl

First recorded in 1620–30, pawl is from the Dutch word pal ratchet

Words nearby pawl

Pavo, pavonine, pavor nocturnus, paw, pawky, pawl, pawn, pawnage, pawnbroker, pawnbroking, Pawnee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use pawl in a sentence

When the tympanum vibrates under the influence of the voice, the stylus acts as a pawl and turns a ratchet-wheel.
Heroes of the Telegraph|J. Munro
A table was fixed between the fore-mast and the windlass pawl-post, and lockers ran around the lower-bunks and were used as seats.
The Viking Blood|Frederick William Wallace
Pauldron, pawl′dron, n. a separable shoulder-plate in medieval armour.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various
An' this ratchet-wheel isn't on the pawl prop'ly—not like what this book says it ought to be.
More William|Richmal Crompton

On the lower horizontal roller carrying the supply of paper is a ratchet and pawl movement, actuated by a solenoid.
Practical Cinematography and Its Applications|Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

British Dictionary definitions for pawl

pawl

/ (pɔːl) /

noun

a pivoted lever shaped to engage with a ratchet wheel to prevent motion in a particular direction

Word Origin for pawl

C17: perhaps from Dutch pal pawl

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012