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PlainSpell

valve

/ˈvælv/noun, verb

valve is spelled V-A-L-V-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, valve means “A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a space, such as a pipe, manifold, or plenum” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of valve is valves.

How many letters and syllables are in valve?

Letters5: V-A-L-V-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing13 times per million words; the 5,778th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is valve?

Valve appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce valve?

  • /ˈvælv/

Valve has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-valve.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of valve

  • valves plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • valving participle, present
  • valved participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does valve mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a space, such as a pipe, manifold, or plenum.

    open the valve

  2. 2

    Such a device that admits fuel and air into the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, or one that allows combustion gases to exit.

    Near-synonym: poppet valve

  3. 3

    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 control the flow in the opposite direction.

    the ileocecal valve

  4. 4

    One of the leaves of a folding door or of a window sash.

  5. 5

    UKA vacuum tube.

  6. 6

    One of the pieces into which certain fruits naturally separate when they dehisce.

  7. 7

    A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, such as in the barberry.

  8. 8

    One of the pieces or divisions of bivalve or multivalve shells.

verb

  1. 1

    To control (flow) by means of a valve.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Valve in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchclapet, soupape (device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid), valvule (in anatomy)
GermanVentil, Armatur, Hahn, Wasserhahn, Schieber (device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid)
Portugueseválvula (device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid), valva (in anatomy)
Spanishválvula, llave, grifón (device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does valve come from?

From Middle English valve, from Latin valva (“double door, valve”). Doublet of valva.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after valve