tube

[toob, tyoob]

noun

1. a hollow, usually cylindrical body of metal, glass, rubber, or other material, used especially for conveying or containing liquids or gases.

2. a small, collapsible, cylinder of metal or plastic sealed at one end and having a capped opening at the other from which paint, toothpaste, or some other semifluid substance may be squeezed.

3. Anatomy, Zoology.,  any hollow, cylindrical vessel or organ.

   the bronchial tubes.

4. Botany.

   1. any hollow, elongated body or part.

   2. the united lower portion of a gamopetalous corolla or a gamosepalous calyx.

5. inner tube.

6. Electronics.,  electron tube.

7. Informal.

   1. television.

   2. a television set.

8. mailing tube.

9. the tubular tunnel in which an underground railroad runs.

10. the railroad itself.

11. Surfing Slang.,  the curled hollow formed on the underside of a cresting wave.

12. British.,  subway.

13. Australian Slang.,  a can of beer.

14. Older Slang.,  a telescope.

verb (used with object)

tubed, tubing 

1. to furnish with a tube or tubes.

2. to convey or enclose in a tube.

3. to form into the shape of a tube; make tubular.

tube

/ tjuːb /

noun

1. a long hollow and typically cylindrical object, used for the passage of fluids or as a container

2. a collapsible cylindrical container of soft metal or plastic closed with a cap, used to hold viscous liquids or pastes

3. anatomy

   1. short for Eustachian tube Fallopian tube

   2. any hollow cylindrical structure

4. botany

   1. the lower part of a gamopetalous corolla or gamosepalous calyx, below the lobes

   2. any other hollow structure in a plant

5. 1. US and Canadian equivalent: subway. Also called: the underground. an underground railway system

   2. the tunnels through which the railway runs

   3. the train itself

   4. (capital) the London underground railway system

6. electronics

   1. another name for valve

   2. See electron tube cathode-ray tube television tube

7. slang,  a television set

8. slang,  a stupid or despicable person

9. slang,  a bottle or can of beer

10. surfing the cylindrical passage formed when a wave breaks and the crest tips forward

11. an archaic word for telescope

verb

1. to fit or supply with a tube or tubes

2. to carry or convey in a tube

3. to shape like a tube

Other Word Forms

• tubeless adjective
• tubelike adjective
• multitube adjective
• tube-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tube¹

First recorded in 1590–1600, tube is from the Latin word tubus pipe

Word History and Origins

Origin of tube¹

C17: from Latin tubus

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. down the tube / tubes, into a ruined, wasted, or abandoned state or condition.

see down the tubes.

Example Sentences

The elegantly designed app pulls all kinds of data to forecast exactly how much time you’re going to spend on the ground or trapped inside a metal tube.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Papers and fabrics lined tables as she and her sister inspected a pair of entirely handmade wings they had devised from tubes, feathers and even car parts.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Switchblade 600, with its 33-pound payload, can be set up and launched from a tube by a single soldier in 10 minutes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Grande, who plays the good witch Glinda, was decked out in a champagne pink sequin dress at the premiere while Erivo, who plays the wicked witch, wore a black tube grown embroidered with roses.

Read more on BBC

Sperm was placed in her uterus, close to the fallopian tubes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cylinder 
• duct 
• pipe 
• pipeline 
• tunnel