duct

American  

[duhkt] / dʌkt /

noun

• ducts
  plural

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

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

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

4. Electricity. a single enclosed runway for conductors or cables.

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

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verb (used with object)

1. to convey or channel by means of a duct or ducts.

   Heat from the oven is ducted to the outside.

duct British  

/ dʌkt /

noun

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

2. any bodily passage, esp one conveying secretions or excretions

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

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

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

6. the ink reservoir in a printing press

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duct Scientific  

/ dŭkt /

1. A tube or tubelike structure through which something flows, especially a tube in the body for carrying a fluid secreted that is by a gland.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ductless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ducts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of duct

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin ductus “conveyance (of water),” hence “channel” (in Medieval Latin ), equivalent to duc- (variant stem of dūcere “to lead”) + -tus suffix of verbal action

Explanation

A duct is a pipe, tube, or tunnel through which water can flow. If there's a leaking duct in your kitchen, you may need to patch it or replace it — in any event, you should probably call a plumber. Liquids can move through a duct, and when the duct is in a person's body, like a tear duct or a pancreatic duct, it has the same purpose — tears, for example, flow through tear ducts. Some ducts aid the flow of substances other than liquids, like the air ducts that blow warm air from your furnace into the rooms of your house. Duct tape, often incorrectly called "duck tape," is tape that's used for repairing ducts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

duct ducts

“She just pushed that duct tape up and shimmied right out of that chair,” Roebuck recalls.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

I had to use the trunk opener inside the glove compartment, which, of course, had been jimmied open, and I kept closed with duct tape.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

"Two super typhoons in two months, in the same year, is a historic event," said Castro, who has sealed windows at his home with duct tape and filled up extra water containers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

He had cholangiocarcinoma - a bile duct cancer - but it had reached Stage 4, meaning it was no longer curable, and the best he could hope for was treatment that would extend his life.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

And while we were all for using duct tape on a drainpipe or a fender, it could never hold together something as important as a soul.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

Thirteen of those deaths were attributed to vanishing bile duct syndrome, a condition marked by the destruction of the ducts that carry bile out of the liver.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

The bile ducts are small tubes that connect different organs, including the liver and gall bladder, and are part of the digestive system.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

When F. nucleatum was introduced directly into breast ducts, it caused metaplastic and hyperplastic lesions, noncancerous changes where cells either grow excessively or shift into a different type.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 19, 2026

The same is true for keeping air ducts clean.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 28, 2026

I don’t cry, but I am in a position to realize, for the first time in many years, that the tear ducts are still there and still capable of doing their job.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

• conduit
• tube