ratchet something up/down
phrasal verb with ratchet verb uk/ˈrætʃ.ɪt/ us/ˈrætʃ.ɪt/
逐步增加／减少
to increase/reduce something over a period of time
The debate should ratchet up awareness of the problem among members of the general public. 这场辩论可以使普通百姓逐步认识这个问题。
The government was accused of ratcheting up pressure on the health services. 人们指责政府逐步向公共医疗卫生服务施加压力。
Costs have been ratcheted down by as much as 50 percent since 1999. 自1999年以来，成本逐步降低了差不多有50%。