tube
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
toobIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtub
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape.
anatomy
Any hollow cylindrical body structure
An approximately cylindrical container, usually with a crimped end and a screw top, used to contain and dispense semiliquid substances.
canadauscolloquial
A television. Compare cathode ray tube and picture tube.
Australiaslang
A tin can containing beer.
verb
Place or enclose in a tube
Convey in a tube
“Inside Paris, they used to tube mail.”
transitive
To supply with, or enclose in, a tube.
Ride or float on an inflated tube
“We tubed down the river on a hot summer day.”
transitive
To ride an inner tube.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape.
Used this way, tube is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Rideverb
“We tubed down the river on a hot summer day.”
Conveyverb
“Inside Paris, they used to tube mail.”
More ways to use tube
- “In Paris the subway system is called the `metro' and in London it is called the `tube' or the `underground'”noun
- “Inside Paris, they used to tube mail.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A fleshy underground stem or root serving for reproductive and food storage.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Erect perennial of eastern and southern United States having showy orange flowers.
Adjustable wrench for gripping and turning a pipe.
A well made by driving a tube into the earth to a stratum that bears water.
Any hollow cylindrical body structure.
Any of various fruit bats of the genus Nyctimene distinguished by nostrils drawn out into diverging tubes.
Any of various fruit bats of the genus Nyctimene distinguished by nostrils drawn out into diverging tubes.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Plant growing from a tuber.
Pneumatic tire not needing an inner tube to be airtight.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.