noun

sprocket

SPRAH-kit/ˈsprɑːkɪt/

A toothed wheel that engages a chain, track, or perforated film.

The sprocket’s teeth fit between the chain’s rollers.

A close-up steel sprocket with a roller chain wrapped around half its circumference, clearly showing the teeth fitting between the chain rollers.

Etymology

The ancestry is obscure. Early uses named a triangular framing timber and later a chain-engaging projection on a wheel; in the selected sense, sprocket names the toothed wheel itself.

In context

DIY PRO6:14

To align the sprocket, you can either add some oversized washers or just get a 3/4 in shaft spacer

Harbor Freight Hand Truck Into Sweet DRIFT GO KART

More examples

Each sprocket tooth engaged a link in the chain.
The machine’s worn sprocket needed replacing.
The film advanced over a small sprocket.

Forms

sprocket · sprockets

Similar words

gear: A gear usually meshes with another toothed wheel; a sprocket engages a chain or perforated material.
pulley: A pulley guides a belt or rope; a sprocket’s teeth engage specific openings or links.