Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various toothlike projections arranged on a wheel rim to engage the links of a chain.
  • noun A cylinder with a toothed rim that engages in the perforations of photographic or movie film to pull it through a camera or projector.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One of a series of projections in a grooved recess round the lower part of a ship's capstan, by which the chain-cable is grasped while heaving up anchor.
  • noun One of the projections on a sprocket-wheel which engage the chain.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A tooth or projection, as on the periphery of a wheel, shaped so as to engage with a chain.
  • noun A sprocket wheel.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A toothed wheel that enmeshes with a chain or other perforated band.
  • noun usually plural The tooth of such a wheel.
  • noun architecture A flared extension at the base of a sloped roof.
  • noun A placeholder name for an unnamed, unspecified, or hypothetical manufactured good or product.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun roller that has teeth on the rims to pull film or paper through
  • noun thin wheel with teeth that engage with a chain
  • noun tooth on the rim of gear wheel

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology.

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Examples

  • There is a drop down menu from the top middle bar of your working window (with a little 'sprocket' symbol).

    Discussions: Message List - root

  • Why, coming home on my bicycle the other day there was an awful row between some infernal 'sprocket' and the 'ball bearings' of the machine, and I never knew before there were such things in the whole concern. "

    Condensed Novels: New Burlesques

  • With the creaking sound of a tired sprocket, I looked up to see Larry Beecher ride by on his ten speed bike for the third time in five minutes; head bent in a slow, yet purposeful pace, pedaled by fifteen dollar tennis shoes, shock white socks stretched with perfection to the knee caps, 70s-style brown sport shorts, yellow mesh tank top, low-worn baseball cap and a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses.

    Yard Sailing

  • The sprocket appears to make a complete rotation for every hour, which would mean that its the minute drive being used.

    Cantena Wall Clock » E-Mail

  • As the socks and sprocket and all that came with them disappeared in earnest down the block, I flipped the plunger in the air, allowing exactly one revolution, grabbed it by its wooden handle and went inside to get dressed for the day in store.

    Yard Sailing

  • The clutter of existence falls away pretty easily when you need all your energy just to turn the pedal sprocket one more revolution.

    It's All Downhill From Here

  • Meanwhile Julie Lewis continues to change the world, one film sprocket at a time.

    Holly Cara Price: Sustainable, Recyclable, Durable: Purses and Bags Made from Movie Film

  • The sprocket appears to make a complete rotation for every hour, which would mean that its the minute drive being used.

    Cantena Wall Clock

  • All you have to do is back off the holding nuts, then use a screwdriver to turn a sprocket in the bar to loosen or tighten the chain as much as you want.

    Craftsman Professional 40cc chain saw

  • The clutter of existence falls away pretty easily when you need all your energy just to turn the pedal sprocket one more revolution.

    Archive 2010-04-01

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