vent - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Partly from Middle French vent, from Latin ventus and partly from French éventer. Cognate with French vent and Spanish viento (“wind”) and ventana (“window”). Doublet of wind.

vent (plural vents)

A vent (opening) in the wall of a house.

  1. An opening through which gases, especially air, can pass.
    the vent of a cask; the vent of a mould
  2. A small aperture.
  3. An opening in a volcano from which lava or gas flows.
  4. A rant; a long session of expressing verbal frustration.
  5. The excretory opening of lower orders of vertebrates; cloaca.
  6. A slit in the seam of a garment.
  7. The opening at the breech of a firearm, through which fire is communicated to the powder of the charge.
    Synonym: touch hole
  8. In steam boilers, a sectional area of the passage for gases divided by the length of the same passage in feet.
  9. Opportunity of escape or passage from confinement or privacy; outlet.
  10. Emission; escape; passage to notice or expression; publication; utterance.
  1. (obsolete, rare, medicine) Discharge, efflux

an opening through which gases, especially air, can pass — see also air vent

a slit in the seam of a garment

vent (third-person singular simple present vents, present participle venting, simple past and past participle vented)

  1. (intransitive) To allow gases to escape.
    The stove vents to the outside.
  2. (transitive) To allow gases to escape from (a sealed space, container, etc.).
    • 1984, Tom Clancy, “The Eighth Day: Friday, 10 December”, in The Hunt for Red October, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, →ISBN, pages 194–195:
      In the engine room, the changing angle dropped the melted core to the deck. The hot mass attacked the steel deck first, burning through that, then the titanium of the hull. Five seconds later the engine room was vented to the sea. The Politovskiy's largest compartment filled rapidly with water. This destroyed what little reserve buoyancy the ship had, and the acute down-angle returned. The Alfa began her last dive.
  3. (transitive) To allow to escape through a vent.
    Exhaust is vented to the outside.
  4. (transitive, intransitive) To express a strong emotion.
    Synonym: let off steam
    He vents his anger violently.
    Can we talk? I need to vent.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:
      He inveighed against the folly of making oneself liable for the debts of others; vented many bitter execrations against the brother; and concluded with wishing something could be done for the unfortunate family.
    • 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 June 2013:
      But the demonstrators remained defiant, pouring into the streets by the thousands and venting their anger over political corruption, the high cost of living and huge public spending for the World Cup and the Olympics.
    • 2025 July 16, Ryan Bort and Asawin Suebsaeng, “Trump calls Epstein conspiracy a ‘hoax’ and turns on Maga ‘weaklings’”, in Rolling Stone‎[1]:
      “They won’t shut the fuck up about it,” Trump privately vented — referring to conservative influencers and media types lashing out over the Epstein memo — according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
  5. To snuff; to breathe or puff out; to snort.
    • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Februarie. Ægloga Secunda.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC:
      Seest, howe brag yond Bullocke beares, So smirke, so smoothe, his pricked eares? […] See howe he venteth into the wynd.
  6. (transitive) To determine the sex of (a chick) by opening up the anal vent or cloaca.
  7. (intransitive, video games, slang) To use a vent in the video game Among Us. [_with_ to ‘to go (somewhere)’]
    • 2020 September 24, Jen Rothery, “Among Us 2: everything we know about the sequel”, in PCGamesN‎[2], Bath, Somerset: Network N Media, archived from the original on 18 September 2020:
      We suspect they’ve vented to medbay and are intending to use some kind of surgical tools to ‘upgrade’ the original Among Us with a bunch of cool new features and levels, instead of starting over from scratch with the sequel.
    • 2020 November 19, Muhammad Tariq, “Those we didn't know are ‘Among Us’”, in The California Aggie‎[3], volume 139, number 7, Davis, Calif.: Associated Students of UC Davis, →OCLC, page 8, column 2:
      “Among Us” has become ingrained into Generation Z’s culture in such a way that phrases such as “yellow is sus,” “purple vented” or “skip vote” are part of our daily vernacular.
    • 2022 June 9, Kris Holt, “‘Among Us VR’ Trailer Shows First-Person Tasks, Venting And Emergency Meetings”, in Forbes‎[4], Jersey City, N.J.: Forbes Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 9 June 2022:
      When you’re venting as an impostor, you’ll be able to peer through the grille to see who’s passing by.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:vent.

to allow gases to escape

to allow to escape through a vent

to express a strong emotion

Clipping of ventriloquism.

vent (plural vents)

  1. Ventriloquism.

From French vente, from Latin vendere (“to sell”).

vent (third-person singular simple present vents, present participle venting, simple past and past participle vented)

  1. To sell; to vend.

From Spanish venta (“a poor inn, sale, market”).

vent (plural vents)

  1. (obsolete) A baiting place; an inn.

Clipping.

vent (plural vents)

  1. (medicine, colloquial) Clipping of ventilation or ventilator.
    I have adjusted the vent settings.

vent (third-person singular simple present vents, present participle venting, simple past and past participle vented)

  1. (medicine, colloquial) To ventilate; to use a ventilator; to use ventilation.

Inherited from Old Catalan vent, from Latin ventus, from Proto-Italic *wentos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts < *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”).

vent m (plural vents)

  1. wind (movement of air)
  2. (castells) a casteller in the pinya standing between the laterals, and bracing the right leg of one segon and the left leg of another (primer vent), or a casteller placed behind one of the primers vents (segon (tercer, etc.) vent)
    Synonyms: dau, mà-i-mà

vent

  1. imperative of vente

From Middle Dutch vent (“hero; man”). Unknown earlier origin. Compare West Frisian feint (“servant; fellow; boyfriend”), Low German Fent (“young fellow”), Saterland Frisian Wäänt (“boy, lad”).

vent m (plural venten, diminutive ventje n)

  1. chap, fellow

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vent

  1. inflection of venten:
    1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative

Inherited from Latin ventus.

vent m (plural vents) (ORB, broad)

  1. wind

Inherited from Middle French vent, from Old French vent, from Latin ventus, from Proto-Italic *wentos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts < *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”).

vent m (plural vents)

  1. wind
    moulin à vent ― windmill
    petite pluie abat grand vent ― a little kindness goes a long way (literally, “a little rain abates a great wind”)
    rose des vents ― compass rose (literally, “rose of the winds”)
    qui sème le vent récolte la tempête ― who sows the wind harvests the tempest
  2. (euphemistic) flatulence
    Synonym: (neutral) pet
  3. (uncountable) empty words, hot air
    Synonym: paroles en l'air
    Toutes ces promesses, c'est du vent. ― Those are empty promises.
  4. (slang)
    se prendre un vent ― to be completely blanked, to receive no answer, to be rebuffed by having one's advances ignored
    mettre un vent à quelqu'un, faire un vent à quelqu'un, foutre un vent à quelqu'un ― to ignore someone, to give someone the cold shoulder, to brush someone off, to diss someone
    un gros vent, un énorme vent ― a blast, a verbal attack or severe reprimand
  5. (countable, chiefly in the plural) wind instrument
    Synonym: instrument à vent

Inherited from Latin ventus.

vent m

  1. wind

From Old French vent, from Latin ventus.

vent m (plural vens or vents)

  1. wind

From Old French vent, from Latin ventus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”).

vent m (plural vents)

  1. (Jersey, Guernsey) wind
    • 1903, Edgar MacCulloch, “Proverbs, Weather Sayings, etc.”, in Guernsey Folk Lore‎[7], page 533:
      Vent d'amont qui veur duraïr, au sér va se reposaïr.
      An east wind that intends to last, goes to rest in the evening.

vent

  1. neuter singular of ven

vent

  1. imperative of vente

vent

  1. imperative of venta

vent (definite singular and plural vente)

  1. past participle of venna

vent

  1. neuter singular of vend

vent

  1. supine of venna

vent

  1. neuter singular of ven

From Old Occitan vent, from Latin ventus.

vent m (plural vents)

  1. wind (movement of air)

Inherited from Latin ventus.

vent oblique singular, m (oblique plural venz or ventz, nominative singular venz or ventz, nominative plural **vent)

  1. wind (movement of air)

Inherited from Latin ventus.

vent m

  1. wind