detented

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A form of detent — 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.

Scrabble 10
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Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of detent

    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
Cite this entry
APA

detented. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detented

MLA

“detented.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detented. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “detented,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detented.

Source: detented on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.