tube

1. 1.

   conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases

   Synonymstubing

   Broaderconduit

   Narrowerbarrelblowgunblowtubecannulacapillarycathetercigarette holdercoilcolumndrain
2. 2.

   electronic device consisting of a system of electrodes arranged in an evacuated glass or metal envelope

   Synonymsvacuum tubethermionic vacuum tubethermionic tubeelectron tubethermionic valve

   Broaderelectronic device

   Narroweracorn tubediodeelectron multipliergas-discharge tubeklystronmagnetronpentodetelevision-camera tubetetrodetriode

   Part ofcircuit

   Partsanodecathodeelectrodegridplate
3. 3.

   a hollow cylindrical shape

   Synonymspipe

   Broadercylinder
4. 4.

   (anatomy) any hollow cylindrical body structure

   Synonymstube-shaped structure

   Broaderstructure

   Narrowertubulesalpinxcochleavessel

   anatomy

5. 5.

   an electric railway operating below the surface of the ground (usually in a city)

   “in Paris the subway system is called the `metro' and in London it is called the `tube' or the `underground'”

   Synonymsmetroundergroundsubway systemsubway

   Broaderrailway

1. 1.

   provide with a tube or insert a tube into

   Broadersupply
2. 2.

   convey in a tube

   “inside Paris, they used to tube mail”

   Broaderbring
3. 3.

   ride or float on an inflated tube

   “We tubed down the river on a hot summer day”

   Broaderride
4. 4.

   place or enclose in a tube

   Broaderenvelop

Other forms of tube

plural

tubes·

past tense

tubed·

present participle

tubing·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about tube

What does tube mean?

tube means "conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases". That is the primary sense; the word has 9 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in tube?

tube has 1 syllable: tube. In IPA it is /ˈtub/.

What is another word for tube?

Close synonyms include tubing, vacuum tube, thermionic vacuum tube, thermionic tube, electron tube. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is tube a common word?

tube is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.