sprocket

English

Sprocket (def. 1)
Cross-section of a mansard roof, with sprocket (def. 3)

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unknown. First attested in the 16th century.

Pronunciation

Noun

sprocket (plural sprockets)

  1. A toothed wheel that enmeshes with a chain or other perforated band.
  2. (usually in the plural) The tooth of such a wheel.
  3. (architecture) A flared extension at the base of a sloped roof.
  4. A placeholder name for an unnamed, unspecified, or hypothetical manufactured good or product.
    Suppose we have a widget factory that produces 100 widgets per year, and a sprocket factory that produces 200 sprockets per year.

Usage notes

Although sprockets are sometimes referred to as gears, there is a technical distinction between the two: sprockets interact with chains, whereas gears interact with other gears.

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • sprocket wheel

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

See also

Anagrams

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