louver

American  

[loo-ver] / ˈlu vər /

especially British, louvre

noun

louvers plural

1. any of a series of narrow openings framed at their longer edges with slanting, overlapping fins or slats, adjustable for admitting light and air while shutting out rain.

2. a fin or slat framing such an opening.

3. a ventilating turret or lantern, as on the roof of a medieval building.

4. any of a system of slits formed in the hood of an automobile, the door of a metal locker, etc., used especially for ventilation.

5. a door, window, or the like, having adjustable louvers.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make a louver in; add louvers to.

   to louver a door.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• louvered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• louvers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of louver

1325–75; Middle English lover < Middle French lovier < Middle Dutch love gallery. See lobby

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

louver louvers

As Miranda and others walked on a metal grate over the channel, two workers in hard hats stood on a platform spraying water to clean algae off a metal louver.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2024

After I adopted him, adjusting a louver window so that he could run out into the courtyard, he would greet me so effusively in front of my front door that I was embarrassed.

From New York Times ● Aug. 19, 2016

Through the louver in the roof, above the thin wisps of issuing smoke, the sky showed pale and blue.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

He went into the living room and found the operating instructions tucked into a ventilation louver of the machine.

From Bad Medicine by Sheckley, Robert

By good luck, we did not need it; for as he passed it to me, the louver at which I was tugging broke and came away in my hand.

From The Adventures of Harry Revel by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir

But as soon as the temperatures reach around 18° C, the wax begins to melt and expand, pushing the louvers open and exposing a surface that reflects sunlight and emits heat.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 2023

The D.C. forensic lab building, a 351,000-square-foot project, includes automated solar sunscreen covers and fritted glass louvers to control indirect light in open office areas.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023

The louvers sit atop the radiator ducts and direct air out of the hood and any modifications could impact downforce.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2023

And they contend that the program will serve the public by ensuring that scores of older, existing billboards are replaced by “modern” signs that use LED technology and have louvers to focus the light.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2023

The window louvers shattered and the glass shards clinked as they fell to the floor.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie