tunnel
an underground passage.
a passageway, as for trains or automobiles, through or under an obstruction, as a city, mountain, river, harbor, or the like.
an approximately horizontal gallery or corridor in a mine.
the burrow of an animal.
Dialect. a funnel.
to construct a passageway through or under: to tunnel a mountain.
to make or excavate (a tunnel or underground passage): to tunnel a passage under a river.
to move or proceed by or as if by boring a tunnel: The river tunneled its way through the mountain.
to pierce or hollow out, as with tunnels.
to make a tunnel or tunnels: to tunnel through the Alps.
Origin of tunnel
1Other words from tunnel
- tun·nel·er; especially British, tun·nel·ler, noun
- tun·nel·like, adjective
- sub·tun·nel, noun
- un·tun·neled, adjective
- un·tun·nelled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tunnel in a sentence
Italian ore, generally speaking, is won by running driftways, or tunnelling into the face of the rock.
Asbestos | Robert H. JonesAt Weber Canyon there was blasting, tunnelling, and heavy stone work for bridges to be done.
Ocean to Ocean on Horseback | Willard GlazierAmong its descendants were innovators who developed a taste for tunnelling in sand and vegetable mould.
More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri FabreIt may also be added that the tunnelling companies all contained an appreciable number of Scottish miners.
The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918 | Frederick William BewsherIn the first instance, success in mine warfare is dependent on the tunnelling company.
The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918 | Frederick William Bewsher
British Dictionary definitions for tunnel
/ (ˈtʌnəl) /
an underground passageway, esp one for trains or cars that passes under a mountain, river, or a congested urban area
any passage or channel through or under something
a dialect word for funnel
obsolete the flue of a chimney
(tr) to make or force (a way) through or under (something): to tunnel a hole in the wall; to tunnel the cliff
(intr; foll by through, under, etc) to make or force a way (through or under something): he tunnelled through the bracken
Origin of tunnel
1Derived forms of tunnel
- tunneller or US tunneler, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with tunnel
see light at the end of the tunnel.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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