pipe

1 of 2

noun

ˈpīp 

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)

: flue pipe

(2)

: reed pipe

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)

: piping sense 1

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

: snap sense 2c, cinch

pipeful

ˈpīp-ˌfu̇l 

noun

pipeless

ˈpīp-ləs 

adjective

pipelike

ˈpīp-ˌlīk 

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

Synonyms

Noun

• channel
• conduit
• duct
• leader
• line
• penstock
• trough
• tube

Verb

• canalize
• channel
• channelize
• conduct
• direct
• funnel
• siphon
• syphon

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

And those tubes are plumbers’ pipe insulating foam. —Adam Bell, Charlotte Observer, 18 Apr. 2024

Brenda Burman, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, presented a diagram showing the dam’s eight large tubes, called penstocks, that water normally passes through, as well as the smaller outlet pipes that enable water releases at low reservoir levels. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

Winter storms battered the area, the damage worsened by a piping system installed by the military to try and preserve a fairy shrimp vernal pool on the cliff above, storm water gushing down pipes and onto the road. —Laylan Connelly, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2024

James sent his brother 60 images to carve onto the pipes and Tom narrowed those down to six. —Ilana Frost, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024

When heated, such as in a hot water heater, hard water can precipitate into mineral deposits and clog pipes, adds Dr. Davis, which explains the limescale in my shower and electric kettle. —Sophia Panych, Allure, 2 Apr. 2024

The team also found toilets and drainage pipes, and the placement of the pipes suggests the original structure had up to four floors. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024

But experts say the problems are mainly due to unmaintained infrastructure like broken pipes, as well as electrical outages at pump stations. —Kate Bartlett, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024

Avery, the man who put the world’s economy on a knife-edge by plundering the flagship of Aurangzeb of India, possibly the richest person in the world, drew deeply on a pipe filled with Virginia’s finest tobacco. —Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024

Verb

But now, pop fans think Taylor Swift is serving up her own heaping helping of piping hot conflict with her old rival, Kim Kardashian. —Stephen Daw, Billboard, 19 Apr. 2024

The camera piped a live feed to an FBI office for three years. —Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024

The court essentially produced the show, piped through a box outside the courthouse to whichever stations wanted the feed. —Elahe Izadi, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024

The company unveiled an all-new Total Solar Eclipse Doughnut, which was an Original Glazed Doughnut dipped in black chocolate icing, adorned with silver sprinkles, piped with a buttercream made with Oreo pieces, and featured a whole Oreo in the center. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024

The morning worship is piped in through loudspeakers. —Sandhya Dirks, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024

This is different from the current capability development process that is largely stove piped across multiple commands each with different mission objectives not necessarily informed by the greater Air Force enterprise requirements. —Dave Deptula, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024

Some of these noises are being piped directly into our ears (thank you, ear pods!), but others are a product of noise pollution. —Amy Paturel, WIRED, 24 Mar. 2024

The employee then piped some flowers made of frosting to top off the treat. —Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2024

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

Phrases Containing pipe

• briar pipe
• corncob pipe
• Dutchman's-pipe
• flue pipe
• half-pipe
• Indian pipe
• lead-pipe
• light pipe
• organ pipe cactus
• peace pipe
• pipe bomb
• pipe clay
• pipe cleaner
• pipe down
• pipe dream
• pipe fitter
• pipe fitting
• pipe organ
• pipe stop
• pipe up
• pipe wrench
• pitch pipe
• put/stick that in your pipe and smoke it
• reed pipe
• soil pipe
• tuning pipe
• waste pipe
• water pipe

Kids Definition

pipe

1 of 2 noun

ˈpīp 

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