test tube

¹

noun

1. a hollow cylinder of thin glass with one end closed, used in chemical and biological experimentation and analysis.

test-tube

²

[test-toob, -tyoob]

adjective

1. produced in or as if in a test tube; synthetic or experimental.

test tube

noun

1. a cylindrical round-bottomed glass tube open at one end: used in scientific experiments

2. (modifier) made synthetically in, or as if in, a test tube

   a test-tube product

test tube

1. A cylindrical tube of clear glass, usually open at one end and rounded at the other, used as a container for small amounts of a substance in laboratory tests and experiments.

Word History and Origins

Origin of test tube¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Origin of test tube²

First recorded in 1885–90