tubule

[ too-byool, tyoo- ]

/ ˈtu byul, ˈtyu- /

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noun

a small tube; a minute tubular structure.

convoluted tubule.

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Origin of tubule

1670–80; <Latin tubulus, equivalent to tub(us) pipe + -ulus-ule

Words nearby tubule

tubular, tubular bell, tubular bells, tubular skate, tubulate, tubule, tubuliferous, tubuliflorous, tubulin, tubulous, tubulure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tubule in a sentence

To explore how the tubules evolved, the team examined hormone signals in a dozen other beetle species.
Most species of beetles pee differently than other insects|Jack J. Lee|June 10, 2021|Science News For Students
Fruit flies use four of these tubules to filter their blood-like fluid.
Most species of beetles pee differently than other insects|Jack J. Lee|June 10, 2021|Science News For Students
In 2016 a group at Harvard’s Lewis Lab used 3D printing to re-create the nephrons’ tubules, complete with a vascular network for blood flow—but they only stayed alive for a little over two months.
Artificial Kidneys Are a Step Closer With This New Tech|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|June 3, 2020|Singularity Hub
But if the lymph capillary is a closed tubule at its commencement this does not follow.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 2|Various

The fine chitinous tubule is especially conspicuous in connection with these largest goblets.
The Origin of Vertebrates|Walter Holbrook Gaskell
Inner and outer aperture of the tubule of the same size; their diameter equal to their length and distance.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel
Foraminal tubule stout, cylindrical, usually somewhat contorted; its orifice irregular in outline.
Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa|Nelson Annandale
This tubule, which does not extend beyond the surface of the cellular coat, is liable to be broken off in dried specimens.
Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa|Nelson Annandale

British Dictionary definitions for tubule

tubule

/ (ˈtjuːbjuːl) /

noun

any small tubular structure, esp one in an animal, as in the kidney, testis, etc

Word Origin for tubule

C17: from Latin tubulus a little tube

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