inner tube

noun

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of inner tube

: an inflatable usually ring-shaped rubber tube designed for use inside a pneumatic tire

See inner tube defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of inner tube from the Web

Lozman will be back inside the high court Tuesday, five years after winning a legal battle over a floating home — please don't call it a houseboat — that had the justices ruminating about inner tubes, wooden washtubs and plastic dishpans.

— richard wolf, USA TODAY, "'Rich white boy with nothing to do' back before Supreme Court arguing for free speech," 25 Feb. 2018
Existing somewhere between Maroon 5 (a favorite of his) and a tropical house kingpin like Kygo, Quinn XCII’s music floats by like an inner tube on one of the lakes that were his summer playgrounds growing up in Michigan.

— robert spuhler, San Francisco Chronicle, "Quinn XCII brings bouncy tropical vibe to Bay Area venues," 20 Mar. 2018
At 16, Orozco arrived in Tecún Umán and crossed the Suchiate River on an inner tube raft, landing in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, before heading to Tapachula some 30 miles away.

— alice driver, Longreads, "The Mutilated and the Disappeared," 31 Jan. 2018
Later, some paddle-like pieces of wood and bits of rubber inner tube were found in the water.

— john bacon, USA TODAY, "Escape from Alcatraz: Letter claiming inmates survived 'inconclusive'," 25 Jan. 2018
In 2010, while tubing on a ski hill, the inner tube flipped and Musk broke his neck.

— susan selasky, Detroit Free Press, "Kimbal Musk's Learning Gardens headed to metro Detroit area schools," 20 Jan. 2018
The Rock Featuring 19 lanes of tubing paradise, The Rock in Franklin is the go-to place for families who enjoy plunging downhill on an inner tube.

— chris barlow, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Another layer of snow is here. It's time to visit these 7 Milwaukee-area sledding hills," 6 Jan. 2018
Where to eat, drink, sleep, and shred (or, uh, inner tube and then sit by the fire) in the American West's best mountain town.

— jensen power, GQ, "Your Guide to the Ultimate Winter Weekend in Lake Tahoe, Skis Optional," 31 Jan. 2018
The copper smuggler would arrange for hired North Korean soldiers to haul the metal in 50-kilogram (110-pound) sacks to the Chinese shoreline, carrying the bags through shallow water or floating them on rafts made from inflated inner tubes.

— Washington Post, "Rough times for smugglers who knitted N Korea to the world," 24 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inner tube.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.