ventilation

American  

[ven-tl-ey-shuhn] / ˌvɛn tlˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

• ventilations
  plural

1. the act of ventilating.

2. the state of being ventilated.

3. facilities or equipment for providing ventilation.

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ventilation British  

/ ˌvɛntɪˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of ventilating or the state of being ventilated

2. an installation in a building that provides a supply of fresh air

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonventilation
  noun
• overventilation
  noun
• reventilation
  noun
• underventilation
  noun
• ventilative
  adjective
• ventilatory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ventilations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ventilation

1425–75; late Middle English ventilacioun < Latin ventilātiōn- (stem of ventilātiō ), equivalent to ventilāt ( us ) ( see ventilate) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Ventilation is when you let fresh air into a place, or air a room out. If you've ever been in a stuffy, hot room and said, "Someone open a window!" you know what it meas to need ventilation. Ventilation airs out an indoor space by letting fresh air in and stale or smelly air out, and it's more effective if you open several windows on opposite sides of the house or building. A fan in the window can also aid ventilation. The root word is the Latin ventulus, "a breeze," which comes from ventus, "wind."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ventilation ventilations

Data centers, often massive, require equipment for heating and cooling, ventilation, and water supply.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

One example is Aspergillus niger, a fungus that commonly grows in warm, humid environments such as bathrooms and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

Together, they launched Normal and recruited recent college graduates and experienced engineers to build energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning machinery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Other required improvements include new lighting, ventilation and electrical systems.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

The ventilation system was not designed for so many people, and everyone had been working every waking moment without much time for personal hygiene.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

However, many responders are falling short of that goal, showing effective lung ventilations as few as two over 10 minutes, with potentially serious consequences, according to the study.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2023

Firefighters brought patients down to the ground floor, “assisting ventilations as required, for transport,” the department said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2023