Hatch

hatch¹

a group of newly hatched animals

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hatch²

1. a covering for a hatchway

2. short for hatchway

3. an opening in a wall between a kitchen and a dining area

4. the lower half of a divided door

5. a sluice or sliding gate in a dam, dyke, or weir

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hatch [hach]

(engineering)

A door or opening, especially on an airplane, spacecraft, or ship.

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hatch

An opening, equipped with an openable cover, in a roof or floor of a building for passage of people or goods from one level to another or for ventilation.

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Hatch 

an opening that provides access to the interior of a structure, assembly, or machine. Under normal conditions of use, a hatch is closed; it is opened only to carry out necessary operations.

On a ship, a hatch is an opening in the deck used for loading operations (cargo hatch), communication with below-deck quarters (companion hatch), or admitting air and light below decks (skylight, or porthole). A hatch in an upper deck is usually watertight, its perimeter framed by coamings.

Hatches (portholes) are also installed in the fuselages of air-craft, in spacecraft, in the floors and ceilings of industrial installations, in boilers, and over manholes for access to water, gas, and sewer mains and telephone systems.