To increase something steadily, step by step, in a way that is difficult to reverse.
To keep making something bigger or more intense, one step at a time, in a way that's hard to undo.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To increase something steadily in incremental steps, especially in a way that is hard to reverse.
"Sanctions have ratcheted up the pressure on the government to comply."
The administration has ratcheted up its rhetoric against the country.
— The Washington Post, 2019
(Intransitive) To increase or intensify gradually and irreversibly.
"Tensions between the two countries ratcheted up throughout the summer."
A ratchet is a mechanical tool that clicks forward one notch at a time and cannot go back — moving upward in locked increments.
To keep making something bigger or more intense, one step at a time, in a way that's hard to undo.
The metaphor comes from a ratchet — a mechanical device that allows movement in only one direction. This irreversibility is central to the meaning. Common in political, economic, and security contexts. Can be transitive ('ratchet up the pressure') or intransitive ('tensions ratcheted up').
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "ratchet up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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