1
a
: a covered passageway
specifically
: a horizontal passageway through or under an obstruction
b
: a subterranean gallery (as in a mine)
c
: burrow
tunneled or tunnelled; tunneling or tunnelling
ˈtən-liŋ,
ˈtə-nᵊl-iŋ
1
: to make or use a tunnel
2
physics
: to pass through a potential barrier
electrons tunneling through an insulator between semiconductors
: to make a tunnel or similar opening through or under
also
: to make (one's way) by or as if by making a tunnel
Examples of tunnel in a Sentence
Noun
The train goes through a tunnel in the mountain.
The moles dug tunnels in the yard.
Verb
Workers are tunneling through the hill.
Insects had tunneled into the tree.
Recent Examples on the Web
Joey Garrison, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026
These will help prevent moles from building their tunnels close to your plants.
—Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 7 Feb. 2026
Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 31 Jan. 2026
Setting traps and baits eradicates or, at least, discourages these pests from tunneling through your garden and nibbling roots to damage perennials and shrubs.
—Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tunnel
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Noun
The tunnel project, the nation's largest infrastructure project, would expand train service between New York and New Jersey along the nation’s busiest rail corridor by adding a new rail tunnel and rehabilitating the existing 115-year-old pair of tunnels under the Hudson River.
—Joey Garrison, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026
These will help prevent moles from building their tunnels close to your plants.
—Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 7 Feb. 2026
Verb
At this scale, electrons start tunneling through barriers meant to contain them, causing current leakage even when devices are off.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 31 Jan. 2026
Setting traps and baits eradicates or, at least, discourages these pests from tunneling through your garden and nibbling roots to damage perennials and shrubs.
—Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tunnel
Cite this Entry
“Tunnel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tunnel. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
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
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
