tunnel

verb

tunneled or tunnelled; tunneling or tunnelling

ˈtən-liŋ, 

ˈtə-nᵊl-iŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to make or use a tunnel

2

physics : to pass through a potential barrier

electrons tunneling through an insulator between semiconductors

transitive verb

: to make a tunnel or similar opening through or under

also : to make (one's way) by or as if by making a tunnel

tunneler

ˈtən-lər, 

ˈtə-nᵊl-ər 

noun

Examples of tunnel in a Sentence

Workers are tunneling through the hill.

Insects had tunneled into the tree.

Recent Examples on the Web

Bare walls give hallways a tunnel-like look. —Shagun Khare, The Spruce, 7 June 2026

Carpenter ants, for example, can damage buildings by tunneling into wood, while fire ants are infamous for their painful stings and bites. —Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2026

In this process, a sufficiently intense electromagnetic field distorts the atom’s potential barrier so strongly that an electron can effectively tunnel out through quantum mechanical effects. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 31 May 2026

In 2025, Hancock was tunneling his slider with his sinker and changeup, throwing all three pitches inside against righties. —Andrea Arcadipane, New York Times, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1795, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing tunnel

• a light at the end of the tunnel
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• high tunnel
• tunnel vision
• wind tunnel

Rhymes for tunnel

• bunnell
• funnel
• fentanyl
• multifunctional

Kids Definition

tunnel

1 of 2 noun

tun·​nel ˈtən-ᵊl 

: a passage under the ground

tunnellike

-ᵊl-ˌ(l)īk 

adjective

tunnel

2 of 2 verb

tunneled or tunnelled; tunneling or tunnelling

ˈtən-liŋ, 

-ᵊl-iŋ

: to make a tunnel

Medical Definition

tunnel

noun

tun·​nel ˈtən-ᵊl 

: a bodily channel see carpal tunnel