Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word pawl. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word pawl, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say pawl in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word pawl you have here. The definition of the word pawl will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofpawl, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
A pivoted catch designed to fall into a notch on a ratchet wheel so as to allow movement in only one direction (e.g. on a windlass or in a clock mechanism), or alternatively to move the wheel in one direction.
1910, Victor Appleton, Tom Swift and his Motorcycle:
A pawl is a sort of catch that fits into a ratchet wheel and pushes it around, or it may be used as a catch to prevent the backward motion of a windlass or the wheel on a derrick.
1994, Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing:
The nails in the rim of the wheel went ratcheting over the leather pawl and the wheel slowed and came to a stop and the woman turned to the crowd and smiled.
A similar device to prevent motion in other mechanisms besides ratchets.
English, Leo James (1987) Tagalog-English dictionary, Manila, Philippines: National Book Store, →ISBN, page 1024
Panganiban, José Villa (1973) Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles (overall work in Tagalog and English), Quezon City: Manlapaz Publishing Co., page 796
