intakes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of intake.

   Engineers cleaned the engine intakes before the next test flight.

   The nutritionist tracked her clients' weekly protein intakes.

   Note

   Only the countable uses of intake take this plural: the openings on an engine or a water pipe, the groups an organization admits at different times, the separate quantities someone takes in. When intake means taking in as a general act, it often stays singular and uncountable. The same spelling also serves as the verb's present-tense form, so in "the pump intakes water" it is a verb, not a noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of intake.

   The turbine intakes thousands of cubic feet of air each minute.

   The clinic intakes referrals from several neighboring hospitals.

   Note

   A transitive form that needs an object: the turbine intakes air, and the clinic intakes referrals. Because the spelling also serves as the noun plural, the object is the quickest test. "The turbine intakes air" uses a verb, while "the turbine's intakes" uses a noun. Where a more familiar verb is wanted, take in or draw in says the same thing.

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