pawl
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.
to check or hold with a pawl.
Origin of pawl
1Words Nearby pawl
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
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. MunroA 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 WallacePauldron, pawl′dron, n. a separable shoulder-plate in medieval armour.
An' this ratchet-wheel isn't on the pawl prop'ly—not like what this book says it ought to be.
More William | Richmal CromptonOn 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
/ (pɔːl) /
a pivoted lever shaped to engage with a ratchet wheel to prevent motion in a particular direction
Origin of pawl
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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