valve definition |Dictionary.com

Related Searches

on Ask.com

mitral valve prolapse

egr valve symptoms

bad egr valve symptoms

tricuspid valve

mitral valve regurgitation

mitro valve prolapse symptoms

leaking heart valve symptoms

replacement egr valve

egr valve install

location of pcv valve

leaky heart valve symptoms

bicuspid valve

Browse Nearby Entries

valve

Sponsored Links Ball Valves - In Stock
Ball Valves, Motorized or Manual S/S, Brass, Flgd, NPT, buy Online
www.assuredautomation.com

Ball Valve Problems
Solve Valve Design Problems w/ CAD embedded CFD. Free Demo!
www.Flomerics.com/EFD-Valves-Pumps

Detroit Fluid Power
Needle, Ball Valves, SS316, Brass We are looking for distributors.
www.Detroit.ind.br

8 dictionary results for: valve

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

valve

[valv] Pronunciation Key, noun, verb, valved, valv·ing.

–noun

1.	any device for halting or controlling the flow of a liquid, gas, or other material through a passage, pipe, inlet, outlet, etc.

2.	a hinged lid or other movable part that closes or modifies the passage in such a device.

3.	Anatomy. a membranous fold or other structure that controls the flow of a fluid, as one that permits blood to flow in one direction only.

4.	(in musical wind instruments of the trumpet class) a device for changing the length of the air column to alter the pitch of a tone.

Zoology.

a.	one of the two or more separable pieces composing certain shells.

b.	either half of the silicified shell of a diatom.

Botany.

a.	one of the segments into which a capsule dehisces.

b.	a flap or lidlike part of certain anthers.

7.	Electronics (chiefly British). vacuum tube (def. 1).

8.	Archaic. one of the leaves of a double or folding door.

–verb (used with object)

9.	to provide with a means of controlling the flow of liquid, gas, etc., by inserting a valve.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L valvae leaves of a door

]

—Related forms

valveless, adjective

valvelike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Sponsored Links Ball Valves - In Stock
Ball Valves, Motorized or Manual S/S, Brass, Flgd, NPT, buy Online
www.assuredautomation.com

Ball Valve Problems
Solve Valve Design Problems w/ CAD embedded CFD. Free Demo!
www.Flomerics.com/EFD-Valves-Pumps

Detroit Fluid Power
Needle, Ball Valves, SS316, Brass We are looking for distributors.
www.Detroit.ind.br

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

valve (vālv) Pronunciation Key

(click for larger image in new window)

n.

Anatomy A membranous structure in a hollow organ or passage, as in an artery or vein, that folds or closes to prevent the return flow of the body fluid passing through it.
1. Any of various devices that regulate the flow of gases, liquids, or loose materials through piping or through apertures by opening, closing, or obstructing ports or passageways.
2. The movable control element of such a device.
3. Music A device in a brass wind instrument that permits change in pitch by a rapid varying of the air column in a tube.
4. One of the paired, hinged shells of certain mollusks and of brachiopods.
5. One of the two silicified halves of the cell wall of a diatom.
6. The entire, one-piece shell of a snail and certain other mollusks.
7. One of the sections into which the wall of a seedpod or other dehiscent fruit splits.
8. A lidlike covering of an anther.
Biology
1. One of the paired, hinged shells of certain mollusks and of brachiopods.
2. One of the two silicified halves of the cell wall of a diatom.
3. The entire, one-piece shell of a snail and certain other mollusks.
4. One of the sections into which the wall of a seedpod or other dehiscent fruit splits.
5. A lidlike covering of an anther.
Botany
1. One of the sections into which the wall of a seedpod or other dehiscent fruit splits.
2. A lidlike covering of an anther.
Chiefly British An electron tube or a vacuum tube.
Archaic Either half of a double or folding door.

tr.v. valved, valv·ing, valves

To provide with a valve.
To control by means of a valve.

[Middle English, leaf of a door, from Latin valva; see wel-² in Indo-European roots.]

valve'less adj.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
valve

1387, "one of the halves of a folding door," from L. valva "section of a folding or revolving door," lit. "that which turns," related to volvere "to roll" (see vulva). Sense extended 1615 to "membranous fold regulating flow of bodily fluids;" 1659 to "mechanical device that works like a valve;" and 1661 in zoology to "halves of a hinged shell."

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

valve
noun
1.	a structure in a hollow organ (like the heart) with a flap to insure one-way flow of fluid through it
2.	device in a brass wind instrument for varying the length of the air column to alter the pitch of a tone
3.	control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid
4.	the entire one-piece shell of a snail and certain other molluscs
5.	one of the paired hinged shells of certain molluscs and of brachiopods

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

valve (vālv) Pronunciation Key

1. Any of various mechanical devices that control the flow of liquids, gases, or loose material through pipes or channels by blocking and uncovering openings.
2. The movable part or element of such a device.
Any of various structures that prevent the backward flow of a body fluid, such as blood or lymph. Valves in the heart, veins, and lymphatic vessels contain flaps (known as cusps) that close in response to pressure created by the backflow of fluid.
One of the paired hinged shells of certain mollusks, such as clams and oysters.
See electron tube.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

valve (vālv)
n.

A membranous structure in a hollow organ or passage, as in an artery or a vein, that folds or closes to prevent the return flow of the body fluid passing through it.
Any of various devices that regulate the flow of gases, liquids, or loose materials through piping or through apertures by opening, closing, or obstructing ports or passageways.
The movable control element of such a device.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

valve electronics
UK term for a vacuum tube.
(1996-01-10)

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Valve

Valve\, n. [L. valva the leaf, fold, or valve of a door: cf. F. valve.]

1. A door; especially, one of a pair of folding doors, or one of the leaves of such a door.

Swift through the valves the visionary fair Repassed. --Pope.

Heavily closed, . . . the valves of the barn doors. --Longfellow.

2. A lid, plug, or cover, applied to an aperture so that by its movement, as by swinging, lifting and falling, sliding, turning, or the like, it will open or close the aperture to permit or prevent passage, as of a fluid.

Note: A valve may act automatically so as to be opened by the effort of a fluid to pass in one direction, and closed by the effort to pass in the other direction, as a clack valve; or it may be opened or closed by hand or by mechanism, as a screw valve, or a slide valve.

3. (Anat.) 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 retard the flow in the opposite direction; as, the ileocolic, mitral, and semilunar valves.

4. (Bot.) (a) One of the pieces into which a capsule naturally separates when it bursts. (b) One of the two similar portions of the shell of a diatom. (c) A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, as in the barberry.

5. (Zo["o]l.) One of the pieces or divisions of bivalve or multivalve shells.

Air valve, Ball valve, Check valve, etc. See under Air. Ball, Check, etc.

Double-beat valve, a kind of balance valve usually consisting of a movable, open-ended, turban-shaped shell provided with two faces of nearly equal diameters, one above another, which rest upon two corresponding seats when the valve is closed.

Equilibrium valve. (a) A balance valve. See under Balance. (b) A valve for permitting air, steam, water, etc., to pass into or out of a chamber so as to establish or maintain equal pressure within and without.

Valve chest (Mach.), a chamber in which a valve works; especially (Steam Engine), the steam chest; -- called in England valve box, and valve casing. See Steam chest, under Steam.

Valve face (Mach.), that part of the surface of a valve which comes in contact with the valve seat.

Valve gear, or Valve motion (Steam Engine), the system of parts by which motion is given to the valve or valves for the distribution of steam in the cylinder. For an illustration of one form of valve gear, see Link motion.

Valve seat. (Mach.) (a) The fixed surface on which a valve rests or against which it presses. (b) A part or piece on which such a surface is formed.

Valve stem (Mach.), a rod attached to a valve, for moving it.

Valve yoke (Mach.), a strap embracing a slide valve and connecting it to the valve stem.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT