Valve
[vælv]
Definition
(noun.) one of the paired hinged shells of certain molluscs and of brachiopods.
(noun.) the entire one-piece shell of a snail and certain other molluscs.
(noun.) control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid.
(noun.) device in a brass wind instrument for varying the length of the air column to alter the pitch of a tone.
(noun.) a structure in a hollow organ (like the heart) with a flap to insure one-way flow of fluid through it.
Typist: Ollie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A door; especially, one of a pair of folding doors, or one of the leaves of such a door.
(n.) 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.
(n.) 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.
(n.) One of the pieces into which a capsule naturally separates when it bursts.
(n.) One of the two similar portions of the shell of a diatom.
(n.) A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, as in the barberry.
(n.) One of the pieces or divisions of bivalve or multivalve shells.
Typist: Ted
Definition
n. one of the leaves of a folding-door: a cover to an aperture which opens in one direction and not in the other: one of the pieces or divisions forming a shell: (anat.) a membraneous fold resembling a valve or serving as a valve in connection with the flow of blood lymph or other fluid—also Val′va.—adjs. Val′val pertaining to a valve; Val′vāte having or resembling a valve or valves: (bot.) meeting at the edges without overlapping as the petals of flowers; Valved having or composed of valves.—ns. Valve′-gear the mechanism for working a valve; Valve′let Val′vūla Val′vūle a little valve: (bot.) formerly used of the pieces which compose the outer covering of a pericarp.—adj. Val′vūlar.—n. Valvūlī′tis inflammation of one of the valves of the heart.
Edited by Jonathan
Examples
- The exhaust valve is then closed, the inlet valve opened, and another cycle of four strokes begins. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- From this space it reaches the outer air by a valve at the bottom of the outer vessel. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- That's right, said St. Clare; put on the steam, fasten down the escape-valve, and sit on it, and see where you'll land. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- And yet her large, grave eyes upon him seemed to open some valve in his veins, and involuntarily he was telling. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Gauge cocks to indicate the height of water, and a safety valve to regulate the pressure of steam, were employed. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The liquid ammonia flows through the regulating valve _V_ into the coil _E_, in which the pressure is kept low by the pump _C_. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- From the bottom of the cylinder a tube runs down into the well or reservoir, and water from the well has access to the cylinder through another outward-moving valve. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Fresh accessions of air are furnished to the apparatus through valve 10 as fast as the air is liquefied. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- When the piston moves downward as in (3), the valve in the pipe closes by its own weight, and the air in the cylinder escapes through the valve in the plunger. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Dentist's chairs have been developed until it is only necessary for the operator to turn a valve governing a fluid, generally oil, under pressure to raise or lower the chair and the patient. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Then came improved weighted and other safety valves to regulate and control this pressure. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The surplus water is best removed by centrifugal pumps, since sand and sticks which would clog the valves of an ordinary pump are passed along without difficulty by the rotating wheel. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Here, as in other pumps of its type, the valves open inward rather than outward. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Among these, are siphon pumps, the force pump of Ctesibius, a fire-pump, having two cylinders, and two pistons, valves, and levers. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The absence of all valves renders it very suitable for draining marshes, and for other similar purposes, as the muddy water and suspended matters will not obstruct its action. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- When the bricks in E′ C′ become cooled by the passage of gas and air, the valves are again adjusted to reverse the currents of gas and air, sending them now through chambers C and E again. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The heels of the workman, alternately raised, form alternately acting valves, and the skin cover, when depressed, acts as a bellows. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- All of these instruments, however, except the trombone possess some valves which, on being pressed, vary the length of the tube and alter the pitch accordingly. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- However, it was the double-acting pump having two chambers and two valves, and in which the piston acted to throw the water out at each stroke. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- In the trombone, valves are replaced by a section which slides in and out and shortens or lengthens the tube. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
Editor: Stacy