valve

valve — noun

1. A movable component in a pipe, machine, or body organ that allows or stops the m

1.名詞B1
釋義

A movable component in a pipe, machine, or body organ that allows or stops the movement of liquid or gas, often ensuring it travels in only one direction.

例句

Aylin turned the valve on the water pipe to stop the leak in the kitchen.

collocation: turn a valve

After the surgery, a new valve helped Joon's heart pump blood normally.

biological context: heart valve in human body

同義詞
  • tap

    British English term for a water valve with a spout; does not apply to heart valves or gas valves

  • faucet

    American English term for a water valve with a spout; limited to household water fixtures

  • stopcock

    Technical term for a valve that regulates flow through a pipe, common in laboratory settings

用法筆記

Can refer to both mechanical devices in pipes and natural structures in the heart and veins. For heart valves, the specific term in Chinese is 瓣膜 (bànmó).

常見錯誤

❌Please turn off the valve of the window.
✅Please turn the valve on the pipe to shut off the water.
💡Valves control the flow of liquids or gases, not openings like doors or windows.

2. A button or lever on brass instruments such as trumpets and horns that the playe

2.名詞B1
釋義

A button or lever on brass instruments such as trumpets and horns that the player presses to send air through different passages, producing higher or lower notes.

例句

Élise pressed the valves on her trumpet to play the higher notes correctly.

collocation: press a valve (on brass instruments)

On a French horn, the player's left hand operates the three main valves.

同義詞
  • piston

    Refers specifically to the sliding inner cylinder of a valve mechanism on brass instruments; more technical than 'valve'

用法筆記

Found on brass instruments like the trumpet, cornet, French horn, and tuba. Woodwind instruments use 'keys' instead of valves, although the function is similar.

常見錯誤

❌He pressed the valve on his guitar.
✅He pressed the valve on his trumpet to change the note.
💡Valves are a feature of brass instruments, not string instruments like the guitar.