detent

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From French détente, from Latin tendō (to stretch).

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

detent (plural detents)

  1. That which locks or unlocks a movement; a catch (stopping mechanism), pawl, or dog; especially, in clockwork, the catch which locks and unlocks the wheelwork in striking.
    • 1972, Mayer et al., United States Patent 3760640, abstract:
      A UHF tuner having 70 detent positions with fine tuning capability at all locations. Coarse tuning is accomplished via a toothed, detented disk and a spirally-extending rim having a follower lever operable therewith.
[edit]

Translations

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

detent (third-person singular simple present detents, present participle detenting, simple past and past participle detented)

  1. The action of locking or unlocking movement by way of a detent mechanism

References

[edit]
  1. ^ detent”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ detent”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Further reading

[edit]

Anagrams

[edit]