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• vane
  vane

  noun

  weather vane.
• Vane
  Vane

  noun

  Sir Henry Sir Harry Vane, 1613–62, British statesman and author.

vane

¹ American  

[vayn] / veɪn /

noun

• vanes
  plural

1. weather vane.

2. a blade, plate, sail, etc., in the wheel of a windmill, to be moved by the air.

3. any of a number of blades or plates attached radially to a rotating drum or cylinder, as in a turbine or pump, that move or are moved by a fluid, as steam, water, hot gases, or air.

4. a person who is readily changeable or fickle.

5. Aerospace.

   1. any fixed or movable plane surface on the outside of a rocket providing directional control while the rocket is within the atmosphere.

   2. a similar plane surface located in the exhaust jet of a reaction engine, providing directional control while the engine is firing.

6. Ornithology. the web of a feather.

7. Navigation, Surveying. either of two fixed projections for sighting an alidade or the like.

8. Archery. feather.

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Vane ² American  

[vayn] / veɪn /

noun

1. Sir Henry Sir Harry Vane, 1613–62, British statesman and author.

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Vane ¹ British  

/ veɪn /

noun

1. Sir Henry, known as Sir Harry Vane. 1613–62, English Puritan statesman and colonial administrator; governor of Massachusetts (1636–37). He was executed for high treason after the Restoration

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vane ² British  

/ veɪn /

noun

1. Also called: weather vane, wind vane. a flat plate or blade of metal mounted on a vertical axis in an exposed position to indicate wind direction

2. any one of the flat blades or sails forming part of the wheel of a windmill

3. any flat or shaped plate used to direct fluid flow, esp a stator blade in a turbine, etc

4. a fin or plate fitted to a projectile or missile to provide stabilization or guidance

5. ornithol the flat part of a feather, consisting of two rows of barbs on either side of the shaft

6. surveying

   1. a sight on a quadrant or compass

   2. the movable marker on a levelling staff

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vane Scientific  

/ vān /

1. The flattened, weblike part of a feather, consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the rachis.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• multivane
  adjective
• vaned
  adjective
• vaneless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vanes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of vane

before 1100; Middle English; Old English fana flag; cognate with German Fahne flag, Gothic fana segment of cloth; cf. gonfanon

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Explanation

Vane is usually short for “weathervane.” If the vane on top of the building is spinning, it must be windy outside. In addition to being a device that shows you the direction of the wind, a vane can help direct flying things through the wind, as bird lovers and archers, among others, know. Be careful not to mistake vane for its homonyms, vein and vain. If you're so vain that you'll slash at your veins if the wind messes up your hair, check the vane before going out. Or just wear a hat.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vane Vane vanes

The Nvidia-backed compute provider has become a weather vane for one of the riskiest—and most highly leveraged—corners of the AI trade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The remarks by Williams are especially important because he is a top ally of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and is seen as a weather vane for the bank’s future moves.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026

In doing so, it set up a great weather vane for the state of national politics.

From Slate ● Dec. 2, 2025

A museum should not change directions like a weather vane but give us the reassurance that some things are timeless and provide us with the history and progression of art.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

“It’s the weather vane arm that points north! That’s where the sword must be!”

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Henry Vane the Younger fled to America from England in 1635 and was elected, at age 23, as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Alongside Aparicio is Sri Lankan actress Merle Oberon, who is believed to have Māori heritage, for her performance as Kitty Vane in Sidney Franklin's 1933 film “The Dark Angel.”

From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2024

King County, originally named in 1852 for Vice President William Rufus de Vane King, a slave owner and advocate for the Fugitive Slave Act, was renamed for the civil-rights hero in 2005.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 15, 2024

"I thought it was a joke at first", carpenter Roger Vane told me.

From BBC ● May 18, 2023

At last, he extricated himself from Romilda Vane, who was hinting heavily that she would like to go to Slughorn’s Christmas party with him.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Morgan Stanley’s report noted that “we would not expect SpaceX to be a material supplier of blades and vanes for supply outside of SpaceX use.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Those vanes are designed to guide and smooth the air flow to avoid it swirling away from the engine.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

We can smell mulch, feel the vanes of feathers, bump into doors and taste peppermints.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2023

Navy identified as jet vanes for medium-range ballistic missiles.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 2, 2023

Five minutes later Lyra had forgotten the moral, but she hadn’t forgotten the little whirling vanes in the ray of dusty light.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

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