a hollow, usually cylindrical body of metal, glass, rubber, or other material, used especially for conveying or containing liquids or gases.
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.
Anatomy, Zoology. any hollow, cylindrical vessel or organ: the bronchial tubes.
Botany.
any hollow, elongated body or part.
the united lower portion of a gamopetalous corolla or a gamosepalous calyx.
inner tube.
Electronics. electron tube.
Informal.
television.
a television set.
mailing tube.
the tubular tunnel in which an underground railroad runs.
the railroad itself.
SurfingSlang. the curled hollow formed on the underside of a cresting wave.
British. subway (def. 1).
AustralianSlang. a can of beer.
Older Slang. a telescope.
verb (used with object),tubed,tub·ing.
to furnish with a tube or tubes.
to convey or enclose in a tube.
to form into the shape of a tube; make tubular.
Idioms for tube
down the tube / tubes, Informal. into a ruined, wasted, or abandoned state or condition.
Origin of tube
First recorded in 1590–1600, tube is from the Latin word tubus pipe
A towable tube will guarantee a wild ride for any seafarer, young and old.
The best boating tubes|PopSci Commerce Team|September 3, 2020|Popular Science
The Platypus Big Zip has a three-liter capacity, and features a switchable tube set-up that can plug into either the bottom or a connection point halfway up the bladder.
Hydration bladders for outdoor adventures|PopSci Commerce Team|September 1, 2020|Popular Science
This bike has a quick-release to hold the seatpost in the seat tube.
The most secure ways to lock up your bike|By Michael Frank/Cycle Volta|August 26, 2020|Popular Science
She remained on a ventilator and tube feedings for nearly five years.
New guidance on brain death could ease debate over when life ends|Laura Sanders|August 10, 2020|Science News
In experimental systems, researchers have attached different sorts of molecules to strips of paper, which can be dipped in a tube of saliva to produce the results of a home test in 30 minutes or less.
The Case for Rapid At-Home COVID Testing for Everyone - Facts So Romantic|Robert Bazell|August 5, 2020|Nautilus
Also, because a tube of lipstick stands in for the “i” in “science.”
Girls Love Science. We Tell Them Not To.|Tauriq Moosa|July 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Having a tube jabbed into an open wound in your throat is clearly not pleasant.
My Friend, Roger Ebert: Pulitzer Prize Winner Tom Shales on the Moving Documentary ‘Life Itself’|Tom Shales|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
IranWire: Why did you decide to respond to Iranian state television by publishing a video of you singing in a London Tube station?
Iran Says Take Off the Veil—and Be Raped|IranWire|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the tube heats up, it creates steam that can be injected into the oil well.
Renewables Can Make Fossil Fuel More Efficient|The Daily Beast|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If ever I give up my music," he says, "you might see me on the tube one day with a hood over my head climbing into a ring.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou|John Ed Bradley|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And listening, there comes up to him from the depths faintly, through the tube: "I'm uninjured, but am bound and helpless."
Miss Dividends|Archibald Clavering Gunter
Breathing through a tube, if continued for a long time, interferes with the natural growth of the air-passage above it.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various
It will also help greatly to make a water-tight joint around the tube.
Boys' Book of Model Boats|Raymond Francis Yates
Again there was no sensory reaction to passing through the Tube.
Gone Fishing|James H. Schmitz
Allow the bulb and tube to cool, then repeat the heating once more.
A Handbook of Laboratory Glass-Blowing|Bernard D. Bolas
British Dictionary definitions for tube
tube
/ (tjuːb) /
noun
a long hollow and typically cylindrical object, used for the passage of fluids or as a container
a collapsible cylindrical container of soft metal or plastic closed with a cap, used to hold viscous liquids or pastes
anatomy
short for Eustachian tube, Fallopian tube
any hollow cylindrical structure
botany
the lower part of a gamopetalous corolla or gamosepalous calyx, below the lobes
any other hollow structure in a plant
the tubeBritish
Also called: the undergroundan underground railway systemUS and Canadian equivalent: subway
the tunnels through which the railway runs
the train itself
(capital)trademarkthe London underground railway system
electronics
another name for valve (def. 3)
See electron tube, cathode-ray tube, television tube
the tubeslanga television set
Britishslanga stupid or despicable person
Australianslanga bottle or can of beer
surfingthe cylindrical passage formed when a wave breaks and the crest tips forward