Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun valve

5 senses of valve

Sense 1
valve -- (a structure in a hollow organ (like the heart) with a flap to insure one-way flow of fluid through it)
       => structure, anatomical structure, complex body part, bodily structure, body structure -- (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing; "he has good bone structure")

Sense 2
valve -- (device in a brass wind instrument for varying the length of the air column to alter the pitch of a tone)
       => device -- (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose; "the device is small enough to wear on your wrist"; "a device intended to conserve water")

Sense 3
valve -- (control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid)
       => control, controller -- (a mechanism that controls the operation of a machine; "the speed controller on his turntable was not working properly"; "I turned the controls over to her")

Sense 4
valve -- (the entire one-piece shell of a snail and certain other molluscs)
       => shell -- (the hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc or a brachiopod)

Sense 5
valve -- (one of the paired hinged shells of certain molluscs and of brachiopods)
       => shell -- (the hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc or a brachiopod)