spiracle

[ spahy-ruh-kuh l, spir-uh- ]

/ ˈspaɪ rə kəl, ˈspɪr ə- /

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.

Words nearby spiracle

spiny-finned, spiny-headed worm, spiny-rayed, spiny-rayed fish, spir-, spiracle, spiradenoma, spiraea, spiral, spiral arm, spiral bandage

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, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for spiracle

Spiracle, spir′a-kl, n. a breathing-hole: any minute passage.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
He believes that the blast was strong enough to blow a man off the spiracle if he were seated on it.
Sea Monsters Unmasked and Sea Fables Explained|Henry Lee
The lips are usually horizontal, but sometimes they dip so as to make the spiracle appear open.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. IV (of 4)|William Kirby
In many sharks and in sturgeons the spiracle forms a conspicuous opening just behind the eye.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 3|Various

The external gills have not appeared on the first cleft or spiracle.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume IV (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour

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, adjective

Word 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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.