test tube

¹

noun

1. a hollow cylinder of thin glass with one end closed, used in chemical and biological experimentation and analysis.

test-tube

²

[test-toob, -tyoob]

adjective

1. produced in or as if in a test tube; synthetic or experimental.

test tube

noun

1. a cylindrical round-bottomed glass tube open at one end: used in scientific experiments

2. (modifier) made synthetically in, or as if in, a test tube

   a test-tube product

test tube

1. A cylindrical tube of clear glass, usually open at one end and rounded at the other, used as a container for small amounts of a substance in laboratory tests and experiments.

Word History and Origins

Origin of test tube¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Origin of test tube²

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

But the majority of studies looking at the effects of herbal supplements like these on parasites have been conducted in test tubes or culture dishes — not in humans.

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It comprised a brick-coloured concoction bubbling away in a test tube.

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The suspects had concealed the creatures in "specially modified test tubes and syringes" which would have enabled the insects to survive for two months, the KWS said.

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We set up an inhibition assay in test tubes.

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The Schilling lab generated detailed proteome-wide solubility maps from both the test tube and mouse experiments.

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