test-tube

¹

[test-toob, -tyoob]

adjective

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

test tube

²

noun

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

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 1885–90

Origin of test-tube²

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

It reveals the structural traits that work under real environmental conditions rather than just in test tubes.

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But the majority of studies looking at the effects of herbal supplements like these on parasites have been conducted in test tubes or culture dishes — not in humans.

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It comprised a brick-coloured concoction bubbling away in a test tube.

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The suspects had concealed the creatures in "specially modified test tubes and syringes" which would have enabled the insects to survive for two months, the KWS said.

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We set up an inhibition assay in test tubes.

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