detent
de·tent/dɪˈtɛnt/noun, verb
detent is spelled D-E-T-E-N-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (de·tent). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, detent means “That which locks or unlocks a movement; a catch (stopping mechanism), pawl, or dog; especially, in clockwork, the catch which locks and unlocks the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of detent is detents.
How many letters and syllables are in detent?
| Letters | 6: D-E-T-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: de·tent |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 86,301st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is detent?
Detent appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce detent?
- /dɪˈtɛnt/
- /ˈdiːtɛnt/
Detent has 2 syllables, split de·tent in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-detent.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with detent?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as detent.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: tented.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of detent
- detents plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- detenting participle, present
- detented participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does detent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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.
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.
verb
- 1
The action of locking or unlocking movement by way of a detent mechanism
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Detent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense which locks or unlocks a movement:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Sperrklinke, Arretierung |
| Spanish | retén, detenedor |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does detent come from?
From French détente, from Latin tendō (“to stretch”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).