tube

[toob, tyoob]

noun

1. a hollow, usually cylindrical body of metal, glass, rubber, or other material, used especially for conveying or containing liquids or gases.

2. 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.

3. Anatomy, Zoology.,  any hollow, cylindrical vessel or organ.

   the bronchial tubes.

4. Botany.

   1. any hollow, elongated body or part.

   2. the united lower portion of a gamopetalous corolla or a gamosepalous calyx.

5. inner tube.

6. Electronics.,  electron tube.

7. Informal.

   1. television.

   2. a television set.

8. mailing tube.

9. the tubular tunnel in which an underground railroad runs.

10. the railroad itself.

11. Surfing Slang.,  the curled hollow formed on the underside of a cresting wave.

12. British.,  subway.

13. Australian Slang.,  a can of beer.

14. Older Slang.,  a telescope.

verb (used with object)

tubed, tubing 

1. to furnish with a tube or tubes.

2. to convey or enclose in a tube.

3. to form into the shape of a tube; make tubular.

tube

/ tjuːb /

noun

1. a long hollow and typically cylindrical object, used for the passage of fluids or as a container

2. a collapsible cylindrical container of soft metal or plastic closed with a cap, used to hold viscous liquids or pastes

3. anatomy

   1. short for Eustachian tube Fallopian tube

   2. any hollow cylindrical structure

4. botany

   1. the lower part of a gamopetalous corolla or gamosepalous calyx, below the lobes

   2. any other hollow structure in a plant

5. 1. US and Canadian equivalent: subway. Also called: the underground. an underground railway system

   2. the tunnels through which the railway runs

   3. the train itself

   4. (capital) the London underground railway system

6. electronics

   1. another name for valve

   2. See electron tube cathode-ray tube television tube

7. slang,  a television set

8. slang,  a stupid or despicable person

9. slang,  a bottle or can of beer

10. surfing the cylindrical passage formed when a wave breaks and the crest tips forward

11. an archaic word for telescope

verb

1. to fit or supply with a tube or tubes

2. to carry or convey in a tube

3. to shape like a tube

Other Word Forms

• tube-like adjective
• tubeless adjective
• tubelike adjective
• multitube adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tube¹

First recorded in 1590–1600, tube is from the Latin word tubus pipe

Word History and Origins

Origin of tube¹

C17: from Latin tubus

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. down the tube / tubes, into a ruined, wasted, or abandoned state or condition.

see down the tubes.

Example Sentences

Gray-green Hollywood Flame fuchsia are just starting to bloom in long red tubes and are irresistible to hummingbirds.

From Los Angeles Times

She uses kitchen equipment you could find at home to make the raw ingredients, and rolls out glossy, white tubes of food.

From BBC

Now he cannot use any of his limbs and uses a breathing mask and feeding tube.

From BBC

He was placed in hospice in 2022, and put on a feeding tube, but lived three more years against the odds, noted Roberts, one of seven close nieces and nephews who called him “Uncle James.”

From Los Angeles Times

They collected more than 40 long cores, or tubes, of seafloor sediment from locations around the peninsula.

From BBC

Related Words

• cylinder 
• duct 
• pipe 
• pipeline 
• tunnel