tube

American  

[toob, tyoob] / tub, tjub /

noun

• tubes
  plural

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.

idioms

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

tube British  

/ 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

tube More Idioms  

1. see down the tubes.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tubes
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of tube

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

---

Explanation

A tube is a pipe shape, a cylinder with a hollow space inside. If you're like most people, you sip your milkshake through a straw — a long, plastic tube. Chemists use glass tubes in labs, and plumbers work with pipes — tubes made of plastic and metal. Another kind of tube is the rubber one inside a tire. If you slide down a snowy hillside on an inflated tire tube, or ride through choppy water while sitting on one, you can also use tube as a verb. Though it's not true in the US, in London the subway is also familiarly known as the Tube.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tube tubes tubed tubing

Serena — dubbed la Serenissima by those in Venice, whose city traditionally went by the same name — was given a scarlet inner tube and a bejeweled swim cap.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026

In these ancient animals, the individual vertebrae were relatively small and arranged around a much larger tube of soft tissue.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2026

Early reports suggested that she fell ill after breaking a test tube.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

Unconfirmed reports had suggested the woman fell ill either after breaking a test tube containing the pathogen or following a field trip to a region where plague is found naturally among wild rodents.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Frank and Joe each picked up a tube.

From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon

The artist created the original “Survival of Serena,” first called “Innertube,” in 1981, after witnessing Cuban asylum seekers floating to the shores of Key West, Fla., on inner tubes and driftwood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026

Engine winches chug day and night, plunging plumbing tubes dozens of metres down boreholes before dragging them up filled with crude oil slurry.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026

Inside were two previously assembled truss bays, reinforced with diagonal tubes and connecting joints.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026

One bought a label maker for her lipstick tubes so she can see what shade she’s applying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

The constant probing of the president's wound, insertions of tubes, and surgical incisions created plenty of opportunities for bacteria to enter Garfield's body.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

This device comes in two forms, tubed and tubeless.

From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2024

The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago within the Kingdom of Denmark, where there is also a strong affinity for meat served in tubed form.

From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2024

The opening of the tubed slide was small, and I thought I should lie down to avoid whacking my head.

From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2017

He was a tall Dane, holding a tubed black device that he called a smoking gun.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 4, 2016

When the rock was reached two streams were found issuing from a fissure; one of them was tubed, and water rose to the surface.

From Saratoga and How to See It by R. F. Dearborn

Also go for: Weekend après parties at Canyon Lodge bring DJs to the slopes, while off-mountain excursions range from guided snowmobile tours to tubing at Woolly’s Adventure Summit, a family-friendly amusement park.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

There is no feel, not through 7 feet of tubing.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

In one video, the workers unwind a line of black tubing, or conduit, from a spool the size of a small car, before feeding it into the ground.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

Certain lots were found to have internal tubing tears, which risk under-delivering insulin to patients.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

Tangles of rubber tubing sprouted out of the tank.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• cylinder
• duct
• pipe
• pipeline
• tunnel

---