duct

[ duhkt ]

See 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

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

Other words from duct

ductless, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use duct in a sentence

The 18-inch air ducts that feed the pipe rooms are each over 50 feet in length, large enough to fit a bowling ball.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso | Rich Goldstein | October 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
We scrambled for the prime spots… bottom bunks on the wall, just close enough to the gale-forced air-conditioning ducts.
How I’ll End the War: The Trip Over to Afghanistan | Nick Willard | April 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He may be a World War II hero and New England Yankee blue blood, but he has the tear ducts of a Sicilian grandmother.
My Other Mom and Pop | Christopher Buckley | April 26, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
Human milk is sterile when secreted, but derives a few bacteria from the lacteal ducts.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
With the converter in operation, the first step in the cycle was the evacuation of the ducts to a near-perfect vacuum.
Greylorn | John Keith Laumer

When the valve is closed altogether the primary air passes through ducts in the valve itself, giving the proper amount for idling.
Aviation Engines | Victor Wilfred Pag
This he carries in two small sacs that lie under his tail, with ducts leading outward about as large as the tube of a goose-quill.
The Desert Home | Mayne Reid
These glands have small ducts, ending in minute apertures on the surface of the skin.
Nervous Breakdowns and How to Avoid Them | Charles David Musgrove

British Dictionary definitions for duct

duct

/ (dʌkt) /

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

Origin of duct

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

Derived forms of duct

ductless, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for duct

duct

[ dŭkt ]

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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