test-tube

adjective \ ˈtes(t)-ˌt(y)üb \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of test-tube

1 : in vitro

test-tube experiments

2 : produced by in vitro fertilization

test-tube babies

First Known Use of test-tube

1866

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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test tube

noun

Definition of test tube

: a plain or lipped tube usually of thin glass closed at one end and used especially in chemistry and biology

See test tube defined for English-language learners

See test tube defined for kids

Recent Examples of test tube from the Web

Meanwhile, in the gleaming labs of the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute, a government agency, researchers nurture shoots of disease-resistant cassava in test tubes.

— The Economist, "African governments are having doubts about their staple crop," 12 Apr. 2018
Caruso: Specifically with domestic dogs, [scientists] actually developed this coat that had a test tube attached to the end.

— rachel becker, The Verge, "Birds don’t fart, neither do sloths, and other secrets of #DoesItFart," 31 Mar. 2018
The Harris girls sang in an Oakland church choir, mastered Indian cooking, and cleaned test tubes in their mother’s lab.

— zoe ghertner, Vogue, "Kamala Harris Is Dreaming Big," 19 Mar. 2018
Emoji 11 takes some science-minded strides, with glyphs for goggles, a lab coat, a test tube, a petri dish, and DNA.

— ron amadeo, Ars Technica, "Behold, the 157 new emoji for 2018," 8 Feb. 2018
Scientists rejoice, there are finally emoji for a test tube, petri dish and DNA.

— joey morona, cleveland.com, "From redheads to a bagel: All the new emoji coming to iOS, Android this year," 8 Feb. 2018
Inanimate objects joining the mix include a lab coat, hiking boot, ballet flat, softball, lacrosse stick, stick of dynamite, test tube, DNA helix, pirate flag and more.

— jamie ducharme, Fortune, "Redheads Will Finally Get Emojis This Year," 8 Feb. 2018
The virtual Mars walkers — up to four at a time in up to four different environments — blew dust off rocks and soil samples and collected them in test tubes.

— james dean, USA TODAY, "Now you can get to Mars from Florida," 18 Dec. 2017
Indeed, in early experiments in test tubes, the authors found that their CRISPR system didn’t do a good job of picking out the bad gene over the good one.

— deborah netburn, latimes.com, "Gene-editing breakthrough found to minimize hearing loss in mice could help humans," 20 Dec. 2017

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

First Known Use of test tube

1846

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

TEST-TUBE Defined for English Language Learners

test tube

noun

Definition of test tube for English Language Learners

: a glass container that is shaped like a tube which is closed at one end and that is used especially in science experiments

TEST-TUBE Defined for Kids

test tube

noun

Definition of test tube for Students

: a tube of thin glass closed at one end and used especially in chemistry and biology

Medical Dictionary

test-tube

adjective

medical Definition of test-tube

1 : in vitro

test-tube experiments

2 : produced by in vitro fertilization

test-tube babies

test tube

noun

medical Definition of test tube

: a plain or lipped tube usually of thin glass closed at one end and used especially in chemistry and biology

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test-tube

Definition of test-tube

First Known Use of test-tube

test tube

Definition of test tube

Recent Examples of test tube from the Web

First Known Use of test tube

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TEST-TUBE Defined for English Language Learners

test tube

Definition of test tube for English Language Learners

TEST-TUBE Defined for Kids

test tube

Definition of test tube for Students

Medical Dictionary

test-tube

medical Definition of test-tube

test tube

medical Definition of test tube

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