TL;DR
A soffit intake vent is the perforated opening in the underside of a roof's eave overhang that admits outside air into the attic, feeding the convection loop that exits at the ridge. Balanced attic ventilation depends on it: the IRC's 1:150 (or qualified 1:300) ratio assumes roughly half the net free area sits low at the eaves.
What it means
A soffit intake vent is the perforated opening in the underside of a roof's eave overhang that admits outside air into the attic, feeding the convection loop that exits at the ridge. Balanced attic ventilation depends on it: the IRC's 1:150 (or qualified 1:300) ratio assumes roughly half the net free area sits low at the eaves. Blocking these openings with blown insulation is a common retrofit mistake, which is why baffles are stapled between rafters before insulating.
Where it sits in the glossary
Soffit intake vent is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
License: CC-BY-4.0 — quote freely with attribution to ProFix Editorial Team / ProFix Directory.