BLOWHOLE

vent, venthole, vent-hole, blowhole

(noun) a hole for the escape of gas or air

blowhole

(noun) the spiracle of a cetacean located far back on the skull

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

blowhole (plural blowholes)

The spiracle, on the top of the head, through which cetaceans breathe.

A vent for the escape of gas.

A top-facing opening to a cavity in the ground very near an ocean's shore, leading to a marine cave from which wave water or bursts of air are expelled.

(metallurgy) An unintended cavity filled with air in a casting product.

(computer hardware) A vertical opening in the top of computer cases, that let hot air, primarily from the CPU heat sink, escape quickly.

Verb

blowhole (third-person singular simple present blowholes, present participle blowholing, simple past and past participle blowholed)

(metallurgy, ambitransitive) To fill or be filled with air in an unintended cavity.

Source: Wiktionary


Blow"hole`, n.

1. A cavern in a cliff, at the water level, opening to the air at its farther extremity, so that the waters rush in with each surge and rise in a lofty jet from the extremity.

2. A nostril or spiracle in the top of the head of a whale or other cetacean.

Note: There are two spiracles or blowholes in the common whales, but only one in sperm whales, porpoises, etc.

3. A hole in the ice to which whales, seals, etc., come to breathe.

4. (Founding)

Definition: An air hole in a casting.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

18 March 2025

ODONTOGLOSSUM

(noun) any of numerous and diverse orchids of the genus Odontoglossum having racemes of few to many showy usually large flowers in many colors


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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