Dictionary.com
definitions

duct

[duhkt]
See more synonyms for duct on Thesaurus.com
noun
  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.
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.

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. 2018

Related Words for duct

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

Examples from the Web for duct

Contemporary Examples of duct

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 reached the top of the duct and pushed against the slot cover.

    Greylorn

    John Keith Laumer

  • I heard a muffled clank; then a hum began, echoing up the duct.

    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
  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
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
n.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
duct in Medicine

duct

[dŭkt]
n.
  1. A tubular bodily canal or passage, especially one for carrying a glandular secretion such as bile.
Related formsduct•al adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
duct in Science

duct

[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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.