tunnel

[ tuhn-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)

, tun·neled, tun·nel·ing or (especially British) tun·nelled, tun·nel·ling.

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)

, tun·neled, tun·nel·ing or (especially British) tun·nelled, tun·nel·ling.

1. to make a tunnel or tunnels:

   to tunnel through the Alps.

tunnel

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˈtunneller, noun

Other Words From

• tunnel·er especially British, tunnel·ler noun
• tunnel·like adjective
• sub·tunnel noun
• un·tunneled adjective
• un·tunnelled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tunnel¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tunnel¹

C15: from Old French tonel cask, from tonne tun, from Medieval Latin tonna barrel, of Celtic origin

Idioms and Phrases

see light at the end of the tunnel .

Example Sentences

Another crowd moved west in an apparent bid to block the Holland Tunnel.

From The Daily Beast

The only catch—he never mined a thing and the tunnel led to a scenic ledge.

From The Daily Beast

When the project was completed, Schmidt moved from the tunnel into town.

From The Daily Beast

Over the next 36 years, he would dig a 2,087-foot tunnel that led absolutely nowhere.

From The Daily Beast

After the tunnel was complete, Schmidt went about building a rail line through it.

From The Daily Beast

The grass had a delightful fragrance, like new-mown hay, and was neatly wound around the tunnel, like the inside of a bird's-nest.

From Project Gutenberg

The south tunnel in New Street was blocked April 18, 1877, by a locomotive turning over.

From Project Gutenberg

To my friends ever since I have not failed to recommend the passage of the Butterley tunnel as a desirable pleasure excursion.

From Project Gutenberg

On the Great Western line the longest is the Box tunnel, 3,123 yards in length.

From Project Gutenberg

Instantly there rose before him the vision of a black torrent roaring through the tunnel.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• burrow