tube

[ toob, tyoob ]

/ tub, tyub /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tube ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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.

Anatomy, Zoology. any hollow, cylindrical vessel or organ: the bronchial tubes.

Botany.

any hollow, elongated body or part.
the united lower portion of a gamopetalous corolla or a gamosepalous calyx.

inner tube.

Electronics. electron tube.

Informal.

television.
a television set.

mailing tube.

the tubular tunnel in which an underground railroad runs.

the railroad itself.

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

British. subway(def 1).

Australian Slang. a can of beer.

Older Slang. a telescope.

verb (used with object), tubed, tub·ing.

to furnish with a tube or tubes.

to convey or enclose in a tube.

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

Nearby words

Idioms

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

Origin of tube

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

Related formstube·less, adjectivetube·like, adjectivemul·ti·tube, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tube

Also, because a tube of lipstick stands in for the “i” in “science.”
Girls Love Science. We Tell Them Not To.|Tauriq Moosa|July 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Having a tube jabbed into an open wound in your throat is clearly not pleasant.
My Friend, Roger Ebert: Pulitzer Prize Winner Tom Shales on the Moving Documentary ‘Life Itself’|Tom Shales|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
IranWire: Why did you decide to respond to Iranian state television by publishing a video of you singing in a London Tube station?
Iran Says Take Off the Veil—and Be Raped|IranWire|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the tube heats up, it creates steam that can be injected into the oil well.
Renewables Can Make Fossil Fuel More Efficient|The Daily Beast|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

If ever I give up my music," he says, "you might see me on the tube one day with a hood over my head climbing into a ring.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou|John Ed Bradley|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And listening, there comes up to him from the depths faintly, through the tube: "I'm uninjured, but am bound and helpless."
Miss Dividends|Archibald Clavering Gunter
Breathing through a tube, if continued for a long time, interferes with the natural growth of the air-passage above it.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various
It will also help greatly to make a water-tight joint around the tube.
Boys' Book of Model Boats|Raymond Francis Yates
Again there was no sensory reaction to passing through the Tube.
Gone Fishing|James H. Schmitz
Allow the bulb and tube to cool, then repeat the heating once more.
A Handbook of Laboratory Glass-Blowing|Bernard D. Bolas

British Dictionary definitions for tube

tube

/ (tjuːb) /

noun

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

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

anatomy

short for Eustachian tube, Fallopian tube
any hollow cylindrical structure

botany

the lower part of a gamopetalous corolla or gamosepalous calyx, below the lobes
any other hollow structure in a plant

the tube British

Also called: the underground an underground railway systemUS and Canadian equivalent: subway
the tunnels through which the railway runs
the train itself
(capital) trademark the London underground railway system

electronics

another name for valve (def. 3)
See electron tube, cathode-ray tube, television tube

the tube slang a television set

British slang a stupid or despicable person

Australian slang a bottle or can of beer

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

an archaic word for telescope

verb (tr)

to fit or supply with a tube or tubes

to carry or convey in a tube

to shape like a tube

Derived Formstubeless, adjectivetube-like, adjective

Word Origin for tube

C17: from Latin tubus

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 tube

tube

1610s, from Middle French tube (mid-15c.), from Latin tubus "tube, pipe," of unknown origin. The London subway was christened the Twopenny Tube before it even opened (H.D. Browne, in the "Londoner" of June 30, 1900); tube for "cylindrical railway tunnel" is attested from 1847. The meaning "TV as a medium" is from 1959, short for cathode ray tube or picture tube. Tube top as a women's clothing style is attested from 1972. Tube steak is attested from 1963 as "frankfurter," slang meaning "penis" is recorded by mid-1980s. Tubing as a recreational pastime is recorded from 1975.

Medicine definitions for tube

tube

[ tōōb ]

n.

A hollow cylinder, especially one that conveys a fluid or functions as a passage.

An anatomical structure or organ having the shape or function of a tube; a duct.

Idioms and Phrases with tube

tube

see down the tubes.

tube

noun

verb (used with object), tubed, tub·ing.

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of tube

Examples from the Web for tube

British Dictionary definitions for tube

tube

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for tube

Word Origin and History for tube

tube

Medicine definitions for tube

tube

n.

Idioms and Phrases with tube

tube