Dictionary

detent en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /dɪˈtɛnt/
• /ˈdiːtɛnt/

Etymology

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

Meanings

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.
   • 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. 1972, Mayer et al., United States Patent 3760640, abstract

Forms

Relateds

détente

Translations (6)

bg ограничи́тел (which locks or unlocks a movement) · de Sperrklinke (which locks or unlocks a movement) · es retén (which locks or unlocks a movement) · es detenedor (which locks or unlocks a movement) · de Arretierung (which locks or unlocks a movement) · pl zapadka (which locks or unlocks a movement)

detent en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /dɪˈtɛnt/
• /ˈdiːtɛnt/

Etymology

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

Meanings

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

Forms