1
: any of various usually cylindrical structures or devices: such as
a
: a hollow elongated cylinder
especially
: one to convey fluids
b
: a soft tubular container whose contents (such as toothpaste) can be removed by squeezing
c(1)
: tunnel
(2)
British
: subway sense b
d
: the basically cylindrical section between the mouthpiece and bell that is the fundamental part of a wind instrument
2
a
: a slender channel (such as a fallopian tube or a pollen tube) within a plant or animal body : duct
b
: the narrow basal portion of a corolla with united petals or a calyx with united sepals
3
4
a
: electron tube
especially
: vacuum tube
b
: cathode-ray tube
especially
: a television picture tube
c
5
: an article of clothing shaped like a tube
a tube top
tube socks
see also down the tube
Examples of tube in a Sentence
She was breathing oxygen through a tube.
watched the liquid move through the tube between the flasks and recorded the movement in his chemistry notebook
Recent Examples on the Web
Six months into one of the largest infrastructure projects beneath New York City, Amtrak has been working around the clock to rehabilitate two of the four century-old tubes of the East River Tunnel, which was badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy back in 2012.
—
Elijah Westbrook, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
In practice, eggs and sperm retrieved at a small satellite office can be sealed in tubes and placed in a G95 portable incubator, which is kept at 37°C, and then transported by car to a central laboratory for fertilization and embryo culture.
—Matt Emma, USA Today, 11 Dec. 2025
Have a tube running from my chest to a machine pumping blood out of my lungs.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
In follow-up comments, the uncle explained that the AirPod was safely removed through an endoscopy—a medical procedure that uses a thin, flexible tube equipped with a camera to examine the inside of the body, typically via the mouth.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tube
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Elijah Westbrook, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
In practice, eggs and sperm retrieved at a small satellite office can be sealed in tubes and placed in a G95 portable incubator, which is kept at 37°C, and then transported by car to a central laboratory for fertilization and embryo culture.
—Matt Emma, USA Today, 11 Dec. 2025
Have a tube running from my chest to a machine pumping blood out of my lungs.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
In follow-up comments, the uncle explained that the AirPod was safely removed through an endoscopy—a medical procedure that uses a thin, flexible tube equipped with a camera to examine the inside of the body, typically via the mouth.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tube
Cite this Entry
“Tube.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tube. Accessed 14 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tube
noun1
a
: a slender channel within a plant or animal body : duct
b
: a long hollow cylinder
especially
: one to carry fluids
c
: the part of a wind instrument that connects the mouthpiece with the open end
2
: a soft container shaped something like a tube whose contents (as toothpaste or glue) can be removed by squeezing
3
4
6
: an article of clothing shaped like a tube
tube socks
Medical Definition
tube
1 of 2 noun1
: a slender channel within a plant or animal body : duct see bronchial tube, eustachian tube, fallopian tube
2
a
: an often complex piece of laboratory or technical apparatus usually of glass and commonly serving to isolate or convey a product of reaction
a distillation tube
b
3
: a soft tubular container whose contents (as toothpaste) can be dispensed by squeezing
4
: a hollow cylindrical device (as a cannula) used for insertion into bodily passages or hollow organs for removal or injection of materials
tube
2 of 2 transitive verb
tubed; tubing
: to furnish with, enclose in, or pass through a tube
the patient is then anesthetized … and tubed—Anesthesia Digest
Anesthesia DigestLove words? Need even more definitions?
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