vane

(vān)
n.

1. A weathervane.
2. Any of several usually relatively thin, rigid, flat, or sometimes curved surfaces radially mounted along an axis, as a blade in a turbine or a sail on a windmill, that is turned by or used to turn a fluid.
3. The flattened, weblike part of a feather, consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft.
4. 1. The movable target on a leveling rod.
   2. A sight on a quadrant or compass.
5. One of the metal guidance or stabilizing fins attached to the tail of a bomb or other missile.

[Middle English fane, vane, from Old English fana, flag.]

View more Animal Life videos

n. 1. a broad blade attached to a rotating axis or wheel that pushes or is pushed by wind or water and forms part of a machine or device such as a windmill, propeller, or turbine.

2. a broad, flat projecting surface designed to guide the motion of a projectile, such as a feather on an arrow or a fin on a torpedo.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Banner-shaped plate of metal, or a weather-cock or -vane, placed on a pivot on a high part of a building, to point towards the direction from which the wind comes.

IN BRIEF: A flat metal plate that shows the direction of the wind. Also: One of the flat arms that spins on a propeller or fan.

I am easily influenced. Compared with me a weather vane is Gibraltar. — Franklin Pierce Adams (1881-1960).

Tutor's tip: Other words that sounds like vane which is a part of a propeller, are vain which means useless or having a high opinion of oneself and vein which is a kind of blood vessel.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

i. A thin and more-or-less flat object intended to align itself with a stream or flow in a manner similar to that of the common weathercock, such as a device that projects ahead of an aircraft to sense gusts or other actions of the air to create impulses or signals that are transmitted to the control system to stabilize the aircraft.



Vanes for pickup of data for angle of attack indicator and autopilot.
ii. A fixed or movable surface used to control or give stability to a rocket or a missile.



An air-to-air missile.
iii. A blade or paddlelike object, often fashioned like an airfoil and usually one of several, that rotates about an axis, either being moved by a flow or creating a flow itself, such as the blade of a turbine, a fan, a rotary pump, an air compressor, etc.



iv. Any of certain stationary blades, plates, or the like that serve to guide or direct a flow, or to create a special kind of flow, as in (i) any of the blades in the nozzle ring of a gas turbine engine; (ii) any of the plates or slatlike objects that guide the flow in a wind tunnel; or (iii) a plate or fence projecting from a wing to prevent a spanwise flow. See nozzle guide vanes.
v. A bomb-arming vane. When a bomb is released from the aircraft, the vanes start rotating and, after a predetermined period, arm the bomb.



vi. A weather vane. A device that shows the direction in which the wind is blowing. See weather vane.

---

The membranous or main part of the contour feather in birds as distinct from the shaft. It consists of the barbs held together by the interlocking barbules. Called also vexillum.

For a list of words related to vane, see:

• Building and Machine Parts - vane: flattened, curved piece on revolving wheel
• Airframe and Engines - vane: one of flat curved pieces rotating around axle in supercharger, used to compress air
• Parts of Ships, Sails, and Equipment - vane: long streamer that indicates wind direction
• Ornamental and Structural Parts - vane: movable device atop spire or tower that indicates wind direction; weather vane

---

See words rhyming with "vane."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Vane.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - forfængelig

Nederlands (Dutch)
windvaan, wiek, schoep, veranderlijk iets/iemand, vlag van een veer, veer op pijl, landmeters instrument

Français (French)
n. - girouette, ailette, barbe (de plume), pinnule

Deutsch (German)
n. - Wetterfahne, Wetterhahn, Flügel, Blatt, Schaufel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ανεμοδείκτης, πτερύγιο

Italiano (Italian)
ala, pinnula, pala

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cata-vento (m), ventoinha (f), vela de moinho (f), aspa (f), bárbula (f), defletor (Aer.)

Русский (Russian)
флюгер, лопасть

Español (Spanish)
n. - aspa, álabe, paleta

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vindflöjel, vimpel, skovel

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
风向标, 变化不定的事物, 风信旗

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 風向標, 變化不定的事物, 風信旗

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 바람개비, (풍차 등의) 날개, (측량기 등의) 시준판

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 風見, 翼, 視準板, 翼板

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جناح, دوارة الريح, ريشه المروحه او التوربين, ريشه توجيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שבשבת, כנף (של מדחף), אדם או דבר לא-יציב, מכשירי מודדים - מד-גובה וכו', החלק השטוח של כנף ציפור‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.