sprocket
/ˈspɹɒkɪt/ noun
Forms sprockets splocket
- noun (mechanical engineering) A toothed wheel that enmeshes with a chain or other perforated band.
- noun (usually in the 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. “Suppose we have a widget factory that produces 100 widgets per year, and a sprocket factory that produces 200 sprockets per year.”
Synonyms
Etymology
Unknown. First attested in the 16th century. Perhaps related to Italian rocchetto (“spool”), spoletta (“spool”), sprone (“spur”), or English spoke, spike, spur.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “sprocket”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details