duct

[duhkt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR duct ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any tube, canal, pipe, or conduit by which a fluid, air, or other substance is conducted or conveyed.

Anatomy, Zoology. a tube, canal, or vessel conveying a body fluid, especially a glandular secretion or excretion.

Botany. a cavity or vessel formed by elongated cells or by many cells.

Electricity. a single enclosed runway for conductors or cables.

Printing. (in a press) the reservoir for ink.

verb (used with object)

to convey or channel by means of a duct or ducts: Heat from the oven is ducted to the outside.

Origin of duct

1640–50; < Latin ductus conveyance (of water), hence channel (in ML), equivalent to duc- (variant stem of dūcere to lead) + -tus suffix of verbal action

Related formsduct·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for duct

conduit, tube, canal, funnel, aqueduct, passage, course, watercourse, vessel

Examples from the Web for duct

Contemporary Examples of duct

With a bit of luck and duct tape, I thought we might put together enough votes to avoid a runoff.
How Thad Cochran Pulled Off a Win Over Chris McDaniel (Simple, Really)
Stuart Stevens
June 30, 2014
The windows were sealed shut around the edges by duct tape but still rattled when it got windy.
Almost Famous: A Father's Day Story
Alex Belth
June 15, 2014
He binds the little flyer with black plastic ties and seals her mouth with duct tape.
The Stacks: The Searing Story of How Murder Stalked a Tiny New York Town
E. Jean Carroll
April 19, 2014
Nobody was allowed in his room, where the windows were covered with black garbage bags secured with duct tape.
We Already Know What Adam Lanza’s Real Motive Was at Sandy Hook
Michael Daly
November 26, 2013
The large roll of duct tape was still attached and found next to her head by firefighters.
Autopsies on Hannah Anderson’s Family Bring Police No Closer to a Motive
Christine Pelisek
September 24, 2013

Historical Examples of duct

Into this duct the ranks of cells around it pour out the peptic juice.
A Handbook of Health
Woods Hutchinson
I heard a muffled clank; then a hum began, echoing up the duct.
Greylorn
John Keith Laumer
I reached the top of the duct and pushed against the slot cover.
Greylorn
John Keith Laumer
And there was that hazard here, for every duct looked like every other one.
Gold in the Sky
Alan Edward Nourse
The operator then carefully examines the duct preparatory to cutting it.
Fur Farming For Profit
Hermon Basil Laymon

British Dictionary definitions for duct

duct

noun

a tube, pipe, or canal by means of which a substance, esp a fluid or gas, is conveyed

any bodily passage, esp one conveying secretions or excretions

a narrow tubular cavity in plants, often containing resin or some other substance

Also called: conduit a channel or pipe carrying electric cable or wires

a passage through which air can flow, as in air conditioning

the ink reservoir in a printing press

Derived Formsductless, adjective

Word Origin for duct

C17: from Latin ductus a leading (in Medieval Latin: aqueduct), from dūcere to lead

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

Word Origin and History for duct

1640s, "course, direction," from Latin ductus "a leading," past participle of ducere "to lead" (see duke (n.)). Anatomical sense is from 1660s. Meaning "conduit, channel" is 1713; that of "air tube in a structure" is from 1884.

duct in Medicine