/ˈvælv/
OriginFrom Middle English valve, from Latin valva (“double door, valve”). Doublet of valva.
- A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a space, such as a pipe, manifold, or plenum.
“open the valve”
“close the valve”
“shut off the valve”
- Such a device that admits fuel and air into the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, or one that allows combustion gases to exit.
“Near-synonym: poppet valve”
“In nearly all internal combustion engines, the valves are of the poppet type.”
- 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.
“the ileocecal valve”
“the atrioventricular valves”
- One of the leaves of a folding door or of a window sash.
- BritishA vacuum tube.
- One of the pieces into which certain fruits naturally separate when they dehisce.
- A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, such as in the barberry.
- One of the pieces or divisions of bivalve or multivalve shells.
- One of the two similar portions of the shell of a diatom.
- transitiveTo control (flow) by means of a valve.
Formsvalves(plural) · valves(present, singular, third-person) · valving(participle, present) · valved(participle, past) · valved(past)