tunnel
Americannoun
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an underground passage.
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a passageway, as for trains or automobiles, through or under an obstruction, as a city, mountain, river, harbor, or the like.
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an approximately horizontal gallery or corridor in a mine.
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the burrow of an animal.
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Dialect. a funnel.
verb (used with object)
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to construct a passageway through or under.
to tunnel a mountain.
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to make or excavate (a tunnel or underground passage).
to tunnel a passage under a river.
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to move or proceed by or as if by boring a tunnel.
The river tunneled its way through the mountain.
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to pierce or hollow out, as with tunnels.
verb (used without object)
noun
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an underground passageway, esp one for trains or cars that passes under a mountain, river, or a congested urban area
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any passage or channel through or under something
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a dialect word for funnel
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obsolete the flue of a chimney
verb
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(tr) to make or force (a way) through or under (something)
to tunnel a hole in the wall
to tunnel the cliff
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(intr; foll by through, under, etc) to make or force a way (through or under something)
he tunnelled through the bracken
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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subtunnelnoun
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tunnelernoun
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tunnellernoun
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tunnellikeadjective
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untunneledadjective
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untunnelledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tunnelsimple
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tunnelssimple
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have tunneledperfect
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have tunnelledperfect
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has tunneledperfect
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has tunnelledperfect
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am tunnelingprogressive
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am tunnellingprogressive
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are tunnelingprogressive
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are tunnellingprogressive
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is tunnelingprogressive
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is tunnellingprogressive
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have been tunnelingperfect progressive
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have been tunnellingperfect progressive
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has been tunnelingperfect progressive
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has been tunnellingperfect progressive
Past
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tunneledsimple
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tunnelledsimple
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had tunneledperfect
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had tunnelledperfect
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was tunnelingprogressive
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was tunnellingprogressive
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were tunnelingprogressive
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were tunnellingprogressive
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had been tunnelingperfect progressive
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had been tunnellingperfect progressive
Future
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; see -elle
Explanation
A tunnel is a passage that runs underground or through something, like a train tunnel that cuts through a mountain. Some theme parks have networks of underground tunnels so that employees can move around out of sight of visitors. Some tunnels, like New York's Lincoln Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel, which connect New York City to New Jersey, are large and solid enough to drive cars through. Others are much smaller, like the tunnels small animals dig through snow or soil for safety and shelter. As a verb, tunnel means "dig a tunnel" or "force through," the way your neighborhood groundhog tunnels under your dad's vegetable garden.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He had been stopped by officers at the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone while driving a friend's silver Bentley to Spain.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
The largest portion of the project to fix and expand the Hudson Tunnel is currently underway, and considered the biggest infrastructure project in the country.
From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026
"The Severn Tunnel is the heartbeat of this main line, it's important in connecting communities on each side of the Severn so it's very important that it's operational and reliable."
From BBC • May 22, 2026
How about a cool $100,000 to be driven through the Lincoln Tunnel in Tony Soprano’s 1999 Chevy Suburban?
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
The World at the End of the Tunnel had sat there that snowy day, right on Gram’s lap.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
