pawl

[ pawl ]

/ pɔl /

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.

Words nearby pawl

pavonine, pavor nocturnus, pavé, paw, pawky, pawl, pawn, pawn off, pawn ticket, pawnage, pawnbroker

Origin of pawl

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for pawl

Plenty of oil should be kept on the circle of teeth in which the pawl engages in revolving the cylinder.
Pistol and Revolver Shooting|A. L. A. Himmelwright
When the time wheel rolls to the bottom of the track, however, the pawl is allowed to drop to the bottom of the tooth.
Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2|Kempster Miller
Picking up a stone, Ned knocked up the pawl which held the ratchet of the little winch.
Copper Coleson's Ghost|Edward P. Hendrick
The lever and the saw connected with it can be raised and held up by a pawl while the work is being fixed.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 795, March 28, 1891|Various

The socket is provided with a ratchet or toothed wheel in which a catch or pawl engages.
Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II|Joshua Rose

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