■ noun a device consisting of a bar or wheel with a set of angled teeth in which a pawl, cog, or tooth engages, allowing motion in one direction only.
■ verb ( ~s , ~ing , ~ed )
1》 operate by means of a ~.
2》 ( ~ something up/down ) cause something to rise (or fall) as a step in an irreversible process.
Origin
C17: from Fr. rochet , orig. denoting a blunt lance head, later in the sense 'bobbin, ~'.