tube

[toob, tyoob]

noun

1. a hollow, usually cylindrical body of metal, glass, rubber, or other material, used especially for conveying or containing liquids or gases.

2. a small, collapsible, cylinder of metal or plastic sealed at one end and having a capped opening at the other from which paint, toothpaste, or some other semifluid substance may be squeezed.

3. Anatomy, Zoology.,  any hollow, cylindrical vessel or organ.

   the bronchial tubes.

4. Botany.

   1. any hollow, elongated body or part.

   2. the united lower portion of a gamopetalous corolla or a gamosepalous calyx.

5. inner tube.

6. Electronics.,  electron tube.

7. Informal.

   1. television.

   2. a television set.

8. mailing tube.

9. the tubular tunnel in which an underground railroad runs.

10. the railroad itself.

11. Surfing Slang.,  the curled hollow formed on the underside of a cresting wave.

12. British.,  subway.

13. Australian Slang.,  a can of beer.

14. Older Slang.,  a telescope.

verb (used with object)

tubed, tubing 

1. to furnish with a tube or tubes.

2. to convey or enclose in a tube.

3. to form into the shape of a tube; make tubular.

tube

/ tjuːb /

noun

1. a long hollow and typically cylindrical object, used for the passage of fluids or as a container

2. a collapsible cylindrical container of soft metal or plastic closed with a cap, used to hold viscous liquids or pastes

3. anatomy

   1. short for Eustachian tube Fallopian tube

   2. any hollow cylindrical structure

4. botany

   1. the lower part of a gamopetalous corolla or gamosepalous calyx, below the lobes

   2. any other hollow structure in a plant

5. 1. US and Canadian equivalent: subway. Also called: the underground. an underground railway system

   2. the tunnels through which the railway runs

   3. the train itself

   4. (capital) the London underground railway system

6. electronics

   1. another name for valve

   2. See electron tube cathode-ray tube television tube

7. slang,  a television set

8. slang,  a stupid or despicable person

9. slang,  a bottle or can of beer

10. surfing the cylindrical passage formed when a wave breaks and the crest tips forward

11. an archaic word for telescope

verb

1. to fit or supply with a tube or tubes

2. to carry or convey in a tube

3. to shape like a tube

Other Word Forms

• tubeless adjective
• tubelike adjective
• multitube adjective
• tube-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tube¹

First recorded in 1590–1600, tube is from the Latin word tubus pipe

Word History and Origins

Origin of tube¹

C17: from Latin tubus

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. down the tube / tubes, into a ruined, wasted, or abandoned state or condition.

see down the tubes.

Example Sentences

Pregnant women typically take folate supplements to prevent neural tube defects in developing fetuses.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

For a time, it used 5 million volts of electricity to shoot hydrogen nuclei down a vacuum tube at up to 100 million miles an hour.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Still, I worried about the optics of swaggering around, brandishing a long plastic tube.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The daughter suffers from a mysterious illness that requires a feeding tube and the kind of hands-on care that understandably overwhelms Linda.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As the nerve cells stop working, swallowing and breathing become more challenging and many people need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• cylinder 
• duct 
• pipe 
• pipeline 
• tunnel