tube
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.
Electronics. electron tube.
Informal.
a television set.
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.
to furnish with a tube or tubes.
to convey or enclose in a tube.
to form into the shape of a tube; make tubular.
Idioms about tube
down the tube / tubes, Informal. into a ruined, wasted, or abandoned state or condition.
Origin of tube
1Other words from tube
- tubeless, adjective
- tubelike, adjective
- mul·ti·tube, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tube in a sentence
Two or three pads, each of which bears tubelike hairs that secrete a sticky fluid, are found on its under surface.
A Civic Biology | George William HunterIn a longitudinal section a series of tubelike structures may be found within the central cylinder.
A Civic Biology | George William HunterOther cells have come to develop greatly thickened walls; these cells give mechanical support to the tubelike cells.
A Civic Biology | George William HunterThe most important parts of this inner bark, so far as the plant is concerned, are many tubelike structures known as sieve tubes.
A Civic Biology | George William HunterThe Eurasian picked up a long, slender, tubelike instrument with a dial topping it.
The Passing of Ku Sui | Anthony Gilmore
British Dictionary definitions for tube
/ (tjuːb) /
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 system: US 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)
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
to fit or supply with a tube or tubes
to carry or convey in a tube
to shape like a tube
Origin of tube
1Derived forms of tube
- tubeless, adjective
- tube-like, 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
Other Idioms and Phrases with tube
see down the tubes.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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