pawl
{{Short description|Mechanical device to restrict movement}}
{{other uses}}
File:Trinquete no watermark.png
File:Pawl brake (English).png in an automatic transmission]]
A pawl is a movable lever that engages a fixed component to either prevent movement in one direction or restrain it altogether. As such, it is a type of latch and can also be considered a type of dog. It typically consists of a spring-loaded lever that engages a mating component at a steep enough angle to restrain it. Pawls are often tapered, being widened at their pivot for anchoring and narrow at their tip.
Applications
;Anchor windlass: A pawl is used in an anchor windlass to prevent a free-spooling chain by grabbing and snubbing an individual link. Similar mechanisms include a Devil's claw, or a claw and dog.
;Ratchet: A pawl is used in combination with a ratchet gear in socket wrenches, bicycle freehubs, winches, ratchet reels for diving, fishing, and many other applications.Nitaigour Premcahnd Mahalik, Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications, p. 271, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2003 {{ISBN|0070483744}}.Richard Krolak, Cruising World, [https://books.google.com/books?id=7i0R9QBe5aIC&pg=RA3-PA107 "Servicing your winches"], April 1990, pp. 107-108
;Ladder: Dogs (in the form of pawls) are used on extension ladders to temporarily anchor their sections to one-another.International Association of Fire Chiefs, Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills, p. 363, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2012 {{ISBN|1449666507}}.
;Table saw: Pawls are used on table saws to prevent a workpiece being sawn from kicking back.Table Saw Techniques: Use Your Saw Like a Pro, p. 12, Quarto Publishing Group USA, 2003 {{ISBN|1610602951}}.
;Transmission: A parking pawl is a device in an automobile automatic transmission which prevents it from moving when the vehicle is parked .Keith Santini, Kirk Vangelder, Automotive Automatic Transmissions and Transaxles, p. 174, Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2017 {{ISBN|1284122034}}.