blowhole
blowhole Lexical Profile
blowhole Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The nostril or pair of nostrils located at the top of the head of a whale, dolphin, or porpoise, through which the animal breathes and expels moist air when surfacing.
"The humpback whale broke the surface of the water and sent a tall plume of mist from its blowhole."
A natural vent or fissure in the roof of a coastal sea cave through which incoming waves force compressed air and seawater upward in a geyser-like spray.
"Tourists gathered along the cliffside viewing platform to watch the ocean waves shoot high through the rocky blowhole."
An opening in sea or lake ice kept clear by seals, whales, or other aquatic mammals so they can come up to breathe.
"The ringed seal surfaced periodically at a small blowhole in the thick Arctic pack ice to catch its breath."
A defect in cast metal, glass, or a weld consisting of a small cavity formed by trapped gas bubbles during solidification.
"An ultrasonic inspection of the steel casting revealed an internal blowhole that compromised its structural strength."
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the mid-18th century as an English compound combining 'blow' and 'hole', originally referring to the breathing orifice of whales and later extended to coastal rock vents and air bubbles in metal castings.