detent.

A catch or other feature that holds a moving part in a selected position until released or overcome.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a spring detent
• detent position

On the page

The selector clicked past the spring detent.

A worn detent no longer held the lever in position.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Singular detent; plural detents. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.