From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishventvent1 /vent/ noun [countable] 1 TDa hole or pipe through which gases, liquid etc can enter or escape from an enclosed space or container a blocked air vent a volcanic vent2 → give vent to something3 a thin straight opening at the bottom of the back or side of a jacket or coat4 technical the small hole through which small animals, birds, fish etc pass waste matter out of their bodies
Examples from the Corpus
vent• an air vent• I found the protozoan attracted in large numbers to slate panels we deliberately left at vents for one year and then recovered.• Central vent eruptions are the best-known kind.• How do species that colonize vents cheat the inevitable local extinction?• As one goes away from the vent, two effects become apparent.air vent• From this he ran a fuse through the floor and out of an air vent into the garden outside.• Lastly, air vents were provided in the walls of barns to prevent the crops inside from becoming mouldy.• They were found dead at Dover after Mr Wacker allegedly closed the air vent on the truck s side.• He waited until the noises faded then pressed his face against the mesh of the air vent.• Undo the coupling slightly so water can trickle into the container, and open the air vent to increase the flow rate.• Open the air vent with a radiator key and see if air or gas is forced out.• I found a small but perfectly-formed hailstone on my knee, which must have got in through the air vent.ventvent2 verb [transitive] EXPRESSto express feelings of anger, hatred etc, especially by doing something violent or harmfulvent something on somebody If he’s had a bad day, Paul vents his anger on the family.vent something by doing something I could hear mum venting her frustration by banging the pots noisily. The meeting gave us a chance to vent our spleen (=anger).→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
vent• Thanks for letting me vent a little.• So why was he still venting his temper on her?• Geothermal energy is of great interest in certain locations where hydrothermal steam is vented into the atmosphere.• After being repelled by police, the crowd vented its anger by damaging property and overturning police cars.• We can still be afraid of expressing our anger, unable to vent our rage.• Restless and unwound at home, their tongue lashes around venting their self-doubt and guilt on others.• Or perhaps it would simply be an opportunity to vent their spleen.vent ... spleen• Or perhaps it would simply be an opportunity to vent their spleen.• Pray heaven Araminta was not going to vent her spleen again!• Nell McCafferty, Bernadette Devlin and other notables vented their feminist spleen at an appreciative audience.• We pour another glass and vent our spleen on drug barons and dope fiends.• I feel much better now I've vented my spleen on this subject.Origin vent1 1. (1500-1600) → VENT22. (1400-1500) Old French fente “long narrow hole”, from fendre “to split”, from Latin findere; → FISSION vent2 (1300-1400) Old French esventer “to put in the air”, from vent “wind”, from Latin ventus 