pipe

1 of 2

noun

plural pipes
1
a
: a tubular wind instrument
specifically : a small fipple flute held in and played by the left hand
b
: one of the tubes of a pipe organ:
(1)
(2)
c
: bagpipe
usually used in plural
d(1)
pipes : vocal cords, voice
… the actress famously showed off her pipes with the emotional ballad "There Are Worse Things I Could Do."Sophie Dodd
a singer with a great set of pipes
2
a
: a long tube or hollow body for conducting a liquid, gas, or finely divided solid or for structural purposes
b
: a means of transmission (as of television signals or computer data)
a broadband fiber-optic pipe
3
a
: a tubular or cylindrical object, part, or passage
b
: a roughly cylindrical and vertical geologic formation
c
: the eruptive channel opening into the crater of a volcano
4
a
: a large cask of varying capacity used especially for wine and oil
b
: any of various units of liquid capacity based on the size of a pipe
especially : a unit equal to two hogsheads
5
: a device for smoking usually consisting of a tube having a bowl at one end and a mouthpiece at the other
6
pipeful noun
pipeless adjective
pipelike adjective

pipe

2 of 2

verb

piped; piping

intransitive verb

1
a
: to play on a pipe
b
: to convey orders by signals on a boatswain's pipe
2
a
: to speak in a high or shrill voice
b
: to emit a shrill sound

transitive verb

1
a
: to play (a tune) on a pipe
b
: to utter in the shrill tone of a pipe
2
a
: to lead or cause to go with pipe music
b(1)
: to call or direct by the boatswain's pipe
(2)
: to receive aboard or attend the departure of by sounding a boatswain's pipe
3
: to trim with piping
4
: to place (batter, frosting, etc.) on a surface by pressing or squeezing through a bag or tube fitted with a special nozzle
Pipe frosting over each frozen ice cream mound to cover.Emily Young
also : to create (a decoration or pattern) by this method
Pipe a rosette of whipped cream on top. Elizabeth Craig
5
: to furnish or equip with pipes
6
: to convey by or as if by pipes
especially : to transmit by wire or coaxial cable
7
: notice

Examples of pipe in a Sentence

Noun He has the pipes to sing on Broadway. a singer with a fine set of pipes Verb The pipers piped while the drummers drummed. The musician piped a tune.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That would be a good start at getting billions more appropriated to cover removal of every lead pipe in the country. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 The wash cycle will take the cleansing solution from the clean liquid tank and run it through the dirty chamber and interior pipes. Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 Her mother was dead—an iron pipe in her back—and so were Raba’s father and her siblings. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Jareth made for a most enchanting sorcerer, with a shock of blond hair and some out-of-this-world pipes. Marc Bernardin, EW.com, 11 Mar. 2024 But if a leak occurs in the discharge pipe, since mid-air temperatures are well below freezing, any fluid coming out automatically freezes. Julia Buckley, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024 One challenge, Davids has said, is that officials are still trying to figure out which pipes might be contaminated. Katie Bernard, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024 Luengo says mismanagement and aging infrastructure play a huge role in the current crisis, noting that the city loses 40% of its water supply due to leaks in the pipes. Emily Green, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024 German seamless pipe producer Vallourec closed its plants in Düsseldorf and Mülheim in late 2023. Jim Vinoski, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
The cost of natural gas piped into the home by utilities such as PG&E plunged 12.9% in February over the one year. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024 Throughout the clip, Lisa meticulously piped borders around multiple layers. Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024 Add this top-selling cast iron skillet to your repertoire to turn sad, pale meals into perfect seared, crispy, and piping hot masterpieces. Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024 Cream cheese buttercream is piped thickly on tiers of cake, sandwiched with layers of balsamic reduction, citrus curd, cinnamon toast caramel, and black sesame cookies. Annemarie Dooling, USA TODAY, 29 Feb. 2024 Stormwater is piped into these spreading grounds and accumulates in dirt basins. Matt Simon, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2024 The new route could cut travel times to energy-hungry Asian nations roughly in half by piping the gas to a shipping terminal on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, bypassing the traffic- and drought-choked Panama Canal. Max Bearak, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2024 Just as American light crude barrels are keeping prices competitive in the oil demand centers of Asia, American LNG exports to Europe are proving equally pivotal in weaning the continent away from its politically disastrous and decades-old addiction to piped Russian gas. Gaurav Sharma, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 The filmmaker piped into Nat Geo’s Thursday meeting with the Television Critics Association to plug his sixth producorial effort for Disney’s conservation-minded brand in four years: Secrets of the Octopus. Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pipe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English pīpa (akin to Old High German pfīfa pipe), from Vulgar Latin *pipa pipe, from Latin pipare to peep, of imitative origin

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of pipe was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near pipe

Cite this Entry

“Pipe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pipe. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pipe

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: a musical instrument consisting of a tube of reed, wood, or metal that is played by blowing
b
: one of the tubes of a pipe organ
c
: bagpipe
usually used in plural
d
: the whistle, call, or note especially of a bird or an insect
2
: a long tube or hollow body for carrying a substance (as water, steam, or gas)
3
: a tube with a small bowl at one end used for smoking tobacco
4
: a large barrel used especially to hold oil or wine

pipe

2 of 2 verb
piped; piping
1
a
: to play on a pipe
b
: to receive on board or signal the departure of by the sounding of a boatswain's pipe
2
: to speak, call, or play with a high shrill tone
3
: to furnish or trim with piping
4
: to carry by or as if by pipes
pipe water
piper noun

More from Merriam-Webster on pipe

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