valve
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Control made up of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
valvIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈvælv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid
A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a space, such as a pipe, manifold, or plenum.
Such a device that admits fuel and air into the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, or one that allows combustion gases to exit.
anatomy
One or more membranous partitions, flaps, or folds, which permit the passage of the contents of a vessel or cavity in one direction, but stop or control the flow in the opposite direction.
One of the leaves of a folding door or of a window sash.
The entire one-piece shell of a snail and certain other molluscs
verb
transitive
To control (flow) by means of a valve.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid
Used this way, valve is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is an engineering use: it is a working term used for accuracy on the job.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Science
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use valve
- “The plumber replaced the leaky valve under the sink.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Internal-combustion engine having both inlet and exhaust valves located in the cylinder head.
A lever pivoted at the center.
Valve with two cusps.
A valve in a carburetor that consists of a disc that turns and acts as a throttle.
A valve to control one-way flow of blood.
A simple valve with a hinge on one side.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Heart disease caused by stenosis of the cardiac valves and obstructed blood flow or caused by degeneration and blood regurgitation.
Inability of a bodily valve to close completely.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.