What is "ratchet up"

Usage examples of "ratchet up".

I could remain defiant and see just how high Marinette could ratchet up the grief-o-meter.

However, since it would be far more likely that the Gulf states would support an invasion as opposed to the Afghan Approach, it would be equally likely that we would be able to convince them to ratchet up their own production to compensate for any losses.

Then two guys tried to climb it, on those little seats that ratchet up when you pull on the rope.

But if you do it, especially in the wake of how recently we've admitted Bolthole exists, it's really going to ratchet up the pressure.

All I may have done is ratchet up the search for him by the North Koreans, if they even had one going.

Randy's pulse and respiration ratchet up by a good twenty-five percent and all of his senses become more acute, almost as if his ears have popped again, and he loses his appetite.

Undenting it was easy: stick a suction cup over it and ratchet up the pressure until it popped back into place.