vent

1 of 3

verb

ˈvent

vented; venting; vents

Synonyms of vent next

transitive verb

: to provide with a vent

: to serve as a vent for

chimneys vent smoke

: discharge, expel

: to give often vigorous or emotional expression to

vented her frustration on her coworkers

: to relieve by means of a vent

vented himself in a fiery letter to the editor

intransitive verb

: to relieve oneself by venting something (such as anger)

comes home from work and vents to the kids

vent

2 of 3

noun (1)

: an opening for the escape of a gas or liquid or for the relief of pressure: such as

: the external opening of the rectum or cloaca : anus

b(1)

: pipe sense 3c, fumarole

(2)

: hydrothermal vent

: an opening at the breech of a muzzle-loading gun through which fire is touched to the powder

chiefly Scotland : chimney, flue

: an opportunity or means of escape, passage, or release : outlet

finally gave vent to his pent-up hostility

vent

3 of 3

noun (2)

: a slit in a garment

specifically : an opening in the lower part of a seam (as of a jacket or skirt)

Choose the Right Synonym for vent

express, vent, utter, voice, broach, air mean to make known what one thinks or feels.

express suggests an impulse to reveal in words, gestures, actions, or what one creates or produces.

expressed her feelings in music

vent stresses a strong inner compulsion to express especially in words.

a tirade venting his frustration

utter implies the use of the voice not necessarily in articulate speech.

utter a groan

voice does not necessarily imply vocal utterance but does imply expression or formulation in words.

an editorial voicing their concerns

broach adds the implication of disclosing for the first time something long thought over or reserved for a suitable occasion.

broached the subject of a divorce

air implies an exposing or parading of one's views often in order to gain relief or sympathy or attention.

publicly airing their differences

Examples of vent in a Sentence

Verb Windows should be opened to vent the fumes. She vented her frustrations by kicking the car. Don't vent your anger on me. I screamed because I needed to vent.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Your cousin may have been venting rather than intending to make a formal announcement of your mother’s passing. —

Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024 Scores of officials across the federal workforce participate in private chat groups for organizing fundraising and public demonstrations and venting about U.S. policy. —

Hannah Allam and John Hudson The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 31 Mar. 2024 Other evidence collected from Earth's telescopes and other space probes suggests that Europa vents its water vapor similarly to Saturn's Enceladus. —

Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024 Many of you shared your fandom stories, vented your anger when things went wrong or celebrated when your team won. —

Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 Returning to the courtroom after sitting through the gut-wrenching school shooting video, jurors were shown a video of James and Jennifer Crumbley handcuffed in the back of a patrol car, venting about what was happening. —

Gina Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, 23 Feb. 2024 Burns has uploaded a number of similar videos over the past few years encouraging fans to vent as needed, but his latest comes in the wake of the troubling allegations surrounding Nickelodeon in the Investigation Discovery docuseries. —

Shania Russell, EW.com, 24 Mar. 2024 Also, the pellet stove is designed to vent directly to your chimney. —

Nor'adila Hepburn, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Mar. 2024 But Angela isn’t just venting; Bobiţă seems to open a vital creative spigot in her. —

Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2024

Noun

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said recently that her agency’s investigation showed that the vent and burn of the vinyl chloride was unnecessary because the company that produced that chemical was sure no dangerous chemical reaction was happening inside the tank cars. —

Josh Funk, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024 The generously sized vents in the armpits keeps things breathable and comfortable. —

Olivia Avitt, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024 The simple construction usually includes a lid, grilling grate, air vents, and ash compartment. —

Carrie Honaker, Southern Living, 1 Apr. 2024 On Tuesday a student noticed the device concealed in a vent in the bathroom and removed it. —

The Enquirer, 29 Mar. 2024 Clean the vent duct behind your dryer using a vacuum cleaner hose. —

USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024 What started as a vent session with her parasocial TikTok friends has materialized into a what’s poised to be a very lucrative career. —

Jasmine Browley, Essence, 6 Mar. 2024 Revisiting old radar images, the new study matched two images of a fairy ring of volcanic vents that were taken eight months apart. —

Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024 Locate the vent and use a screwdriver to open the unit. —

Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English venten "to provide with an air hole," in part verbal derivative of vent "anus, outlet, vent entry 2," in part short for aventen "to cool (oneself, as by removing a helmet), release, let air out of," borrowed from Anglo-French aventer "to allow to escape, release, fan," probably altered by vowel reduction from Old French esventer "to fan, cool by stirring the air," going back to Vulgar Latin *exventāre, from Latin ex- ex- entry 1 + -ventāre, verbal derivative of ventus "wind" — more at wind entry 1

Noun (1)

Middle English, "anus, outlet," probably borrowed from Anglo-French, "wind, cold air, draft, outlet" (continental Old French, "wind"), going back to Latin ventus "wind" — more at wind entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English vent, fente, borrowed from Anglo-French fente "split, crack, opening," derivative of fendre "to split" (going back to Latin findere), probaby by analogy with pairs such as rendre "to yield," rente "income" — more at bite entry 1, render entry 1, rent entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of vent was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Vent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vent. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

vent

1 of 3 verb

ˈvent

: to provide with an outlet

: to serve as an outlet for

chimneys vent smoke

: to give expression to

vented her frustration on her sister

vent

2 of 3 noun

: an opening (as a flue) for the escape of a gas or liquid or for the relief of pressure

: an opportunity or means of release : outlet

his writing gives vent to his pent-up feelings

vent

3 of 3 noun

: an opening in the lower part of a seam (as of a jacket or skirt)

Medical Definition

vent

noun

ˈvent

: an opening for the escape of a gas or liquid or for the relief of pressure

especially : the external opening of the rectum or cloaca : anus

Last Updated: 9 Apr 2024 - Updated example sentences

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vent

verb

noun (1)

noun (2)

Synonyms

Examples of vent in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near vent

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition