VALVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does valve mean? 

• VALVE (noun)
  The noun VALVE has 5 senses:

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

  Familiarity information: VALVE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VALVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A structure in a hollow organ (like the heart) with a flap to insure one-way flow of fluid through it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("valve" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "valve"):

cardiac valve; heart valve (a valve to control one-way flow of blood)

valvelet; valvula; valvule (a small valve)

ileocecal valve (valve between the ileum of the small intestine and the cecum of the large intestine; prevents material from flowing back from the large to the small intestine)

Holonyms ("valve" is a part of...):

heart; pump; ticker (the hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs; its rhythmic contractions move the blood through the body)

Derivation:

valvelet (a small valve)

valvular (relating to or operating by means of valves)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Device in a brass wind instrument for varying the length of the air column to alter the pitch of a tone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("valve" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Holonyms ("valve" is a part of...):

brass; brass instrument (a wind instrument that consists of a brass tube (usually of variable length) that is blown by means of a cup-shaped or funnel-shaped mouthpiece)

Derivation:

valvelet (a small valve)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("valve" is a kind of...):

control; controller (a mechanism that controls the operation of a machine)

Meronyms (parts of "valve"):

handwheel (control consisting of a wheel whose rim serves as the handle by which a part is operated)

handwheel (a wheel worked by hand)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "valve"):

accelerator; throttle; throttle valve (a valve that regulates the supply of fuel to the engine)

ball valve (any valve that checks flow by the seating of a ball)

butterfly valve (a valve in a carburetor that consists of a disc that turns and acts as a throttle)

choke (a valve that controls the flow of air into the carburetor of a gasoline engine)

clack; clack valve; clapper valve (a simple valve with a hinge on one side; allows fluid to flow in only one direction)

exhaust valve (a valve through which burned gases from a cylinder escape into the exhaust manifold)

intake valve (a valve that controls the flow of fluid through an intake)

poppet; poppet valve (a mushroom-shaped valve that rises perpendicularly from its seat; commonly used in internal-combustion engines)

escape; escape cock; escape valve; relief valve; safety valve (a valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler); it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level)

slide valve (valve that opens and closes a passageway by sliding over a port)

Derivation:

valvelet (a small valve)

valvular (relating to or operating by means of valves)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The entire one-piece shell of a snail and certain other molluscs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("valve" is a kind of...):

shell (the hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc or a brachiopod)

Sense 5

Meaning:

One of the paired hinged shells of certain molluscs and of brachiopods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("valve" is a kind of...):

shell (the hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc or a brachiopod)

 Context examples 

Abnormal growth of the cells comprising the cardiac muscle, valves, and/or vessels without any malignant characteristics

(Benign Cardiac Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

Key for this model was the ability to grow valve cells in their native healthy form, an important distinction from many previous studies that had focused on already diseased cells.

(New Hope for Stopping An Understudied Heart Disease in Its Tracks, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Evidence of moderate retrograde blood flow through the valve(s) of the heart.

(Moderate Cardiac Valve Regurgitation, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

Evidence of mild retrograde blood flow through the valve(s) of the heart.

(Mild Cardiac Valve Regurgitation, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

Narrowing of the orifice of the aortic valve or of the supravalvular or subvalvular regions.

(Aortic Stenosis, NCI Thesaurus)

A valve that is located between and controls the flow of blood from the left ventricle of the heart and the aorta.

(Aortic Valve, NCI Thesaurus)

Dilation of the valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart by use of a surgeon's finger or rigid instrument.

(Mitral Commissurotomy, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

Dilation of the valve between the left ventricle of the heart and the aorta by inflating a balloon.

(Aortic Balloon Valvotomy, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

The excessive amount of homogentisic acid in the blood may cause damage to cartilage and heart valves, and may result in the formation of kidney stones.

(Alkaptonuria, NCI Thesaurus)

This includes percutaneous valve procedures and valvuloplasty.

(Cardiac Valve Procedure, NCI Thesaurus)