spiracle
[ spahy-ruh-kuhl, spir-uh- ]
/ ˈspaɪ rə kəl, ˈspɪr ə- /
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noun
a breathing hole; an opening by which a confined space has communication with the outer air; air hole.
Zoology.
- an aperture or orifice through which air or water passes in the act of respiration, as the blowhole of a cetacean.
- an opening in the head of sharks and rays through which water is drawn and passed over gills.
- one of the external orifices of the tracheal respiratory system of certain invertebrates, usually on the sides of the body.
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Origin of spiracle
1300–50; Middle English <Latin spīrāculum air hole, equivalent to spīrā(re) to breathe + -culum-cle2
OTHER WORDS FROM spiracle
spi·rac·u·lar [spahy-rak-yuh-ler, spi-], /spaɪˈræk yə lər, spɪ-/, adjectivepre·spi·rac·u·lar, adjectiveWords nearby spiracle
spiny lobster, spiny rat, spiny-rayed, spiny-rayed fish, spir-, spiracle, spiradenoma, spiraea, spiral, spiral arm, spiral bandage
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for spiracle
British Dictionary definitions for spiracle
spiracle
/ (ˈspaɪərəkəl, ˈspaɪrə-) /
noun
any of several paired apertures in the cuticle of an insect, by which air enters and leaves the trachea
a small paired rudimentary gill slit just behind the head in skates, rays, and related fishes
any similar respiratory aperture, such as the blowhole in whales
geology a protrusion of sediment into a lava flow, formed by the explosive transition of water into steam
Derived forms of spiracle
spiracular (spɪˈrækjʊlə), adjectivespiraculate, adjectiveWord Origin for spiracle
C14 (originally: breath): from Latin spīrāculum vent, from spīrāre to breathe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for spiracle
spiracle
[ spĭr′ə-kəl, spī′rə- ]
An opening through which certain animals breathe, such as the blowhole of a whale or one of the openings in the exoskeleton of an insect.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.