blowhole

Cetacean breathing port

A blowhole is the nostril on top of a whale or dolphin's head through which the animal breathes.

The word extends to any hole through which air or water escapes—a vent in ice where seals surface, or a coastal rock formation where waves force water upward in spectacular sprays: We watched geysers shoot from the blowhole at high tide.

whale

cetacean

Aquatic mammal order

  • spoutProjecting pouring tube
  • sprayDispersed liquid droplets
  • exhaleExpel breath outward

humpback · blue whale · sperm whale · orca · beluga · minke · baleen · pod · breaching · fluke

coastal

sea cave

Wave-eroded coastal cavity

spray · cliff · headland · promontory · erosion · wave · tide · inlet · cove · shoreline

geology

fumarole

Volcanic gas vent

steam · hydrothermal · volcanic · sulfur · caldera · crater · magma · basalt · hot spring · fissure

surfing

wave

Oscillating motion through medium

  • barrelHooped cylindrical vessel
  • tubeHollow cylindrical passage
  • swellIncrease in size

break · reef · spray · wipeout · lineup · whitewater · current · rip · shorebreak · crest

industrial

vent

Opening for airflow

  • moldForm-giving container
  • castingShaping through liquid form
  • furnaceEnclosed heat-producing structure

foundry · metalwork · die · injection · air pocket · defect · porosity · release · exhaust · pressure

Categories
Opposites
respiratory mechanism

blowholegill

Aquatic respiratory organ

gills · lung · spiracle · trachea

aperture function

blowholeintake valve

Port admitting engine charge

inlet · drain · mouth · vent · nostril

Family

blowholes

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G