tunnel

American  

[tuhn-l] / ˈtʌn l /

noun

1. an underground passage.

2. a passageway, as for trains or automobiles, through or under an obstruction, as a city, mountain, river, harbor, or the like.

3. an approximately horizontal gallery or corridor in a mine.

4. the burrow of an animal.

5. Dialect. a funnel.

---

verb (used with object)

tunneled, tunneling, tunnelled, tunnelling

1. to construct a passageway through or under.

   to tunnel a mountain.

2. to make or excavate (a tunnel or underground passage).

   to tunnel a passage under a river.

3. to move or proceed by or as if by boring a tunnel.

   The river tunneled its way through the mountain.

4. to pierce or hollow out, as with tunnels.

verb (used without object)

tunneled, tunneling, tunnelled, tunnelling

1. to make a tunnel or tunnels.

   to tunnel through the Alps.

tunnel British  

/ ˈtʌnəl /

noun

1. an underground passageway, esp one for trains or cars that passes under a mountain, river, or a congested urban area

2. any passage or channel through or under something

3. a dialect word for funnel

4. obsolete the flue of a chimney

---

verb

1. (tr) to make or force (a way) through or under (something)

   to tunnel a hole in the wall

   to tunnel the cliff

2. (intr; foll by through, under, etc) to make or force a way (through or under something)

   he tunnelled through the bracken

tunnel Idioms  

1. see light at the end of the tunnel.

---

Other Word Forms

• subtunnel noun
• tunneler noun
• tunneller noun
• tunnellike adjective
• untunneled adjective
• untunnelled adjective

Etymology

Origin of tunnel

1400–50; late Middle English tonel (noun) < Middle French tonele, tonnelle funnel-shaped net, feminine of tonnel cask, diminutive of tonne tun; -elle

Example Sentences

"There was no plan B, there was no other thing, it was just tunnel vision to win that medal," he says.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

One theory was that Ford suffered from tunnel vision.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

"Christina has been sleeping heads down in the middle of the vehicle, kind of like a bat suspended from our docking tunnel," Wiseman explained, describing their preferred spots for shut-eye.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

As Stratford puts it, the two nations are undeniably still in the tunnel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

A week later, in West Berlin, Harry Seidel decided to attempt his seventh escape tunnel.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• channel
• hole
• mine
• pit
• shaft
• subway
• underpass