What does Ratchet mean?
Ratchet has many meanings. A few years ago, most thought of a socket wrench when they heard the word ratchet. It could also be a mechanical device that allows movement in only one direction - like you would see on a sailboat winch to help control the rope on the sail.
A ratchet is also a Jewish instrument or noisemaker where you hold the handle and swing it around a gearwheel that produces clicking noises. If you are a comics fan, then you probably also know that Ratchet is the name of one of the Transformers - Ratchet robot!
These days you see the word ratchet used in Texting, Twitter, and Facebook all the time and you are probably wondering why there is so much talk about socket wrenches on the Internet. Well, they are not really referring to socket wrenches and noisemakers when you see someone write Ratchet on the Internet.
What does ratchet mean on the Internet? Ratchet is a way of describing a person - and not in a very nice way. A comment like "she is so ratchet," usually is meant as an insult and is offensive. She is dirty, or nasty, or just not right. Ratchet people are clueless, loud, and ugly. Ratchet is used to describe people who take behavior or fashion to a new level. Everything in moderation is not a motto ratchet people live by. Everything has to be done to the extreme, which makes it ridiculous, and thus Ratchet.