From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Intake \In"take`\, n.
1. The place where water, air, or other substance is taken
into a pipe, conduit, or machine; -- opposed to outlet.
[1913 Webster]
2. the beginning of a contraction or narrowing in a tube or
cylinder.
[1913 Webster]
3. The quantity taken in; as, the intake of air.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
intake
n 1: the process of taking food into the body through the mouth
(as by eating) [syn: consumption, ingestion, intake,
uptake]
2: an opening through which fluid is admitted to a tube or
container [syn: intake, inlet]
3: the act of inhaling; the drawing in of air (or other gases)
as in breathing [syn: inhalation, inspiration,
aspiration, intake, breathing in]