tun·nel | \ ˈtə-nᵊl 
\
\Definition of tunnel
(Entry 1 of 2)
tunnel
verbtunneled or tunnelled; tunneling or tunnelling\ ˈtən-liŋ , ˈtə-nᵊl-iŋ \
, ˈtə-nᵊl-iŋ \Definition of tunnel (Entry 2 of 2)
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
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Other Words from tunnel
Noun
tunnellike \ ˈtə-nᵊl-ˌ(l)īk \ adjective
\ adjectiveVerb
tunneler \ ˈtən-lər , ˈtə-nᵊl-ər \ noun
, ˈtə-nᵊl-ər \ nounExamples 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.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The smaller-scale Loop appears to have grown out of the Hyperloop, Musk's plan for a 600 mph train in a tunnel for intercity transportation, which has yet to come to fruition.
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Matt Mcfarland, CNN, "Here's what 'stations' for Elon Musk's The Boring Company look like," 16 Nov. 2020 Rick Snyder, a Republican, in 2018 to replace the underwater segment with a new pipe that would be housed in a tunnel to be drilled through bedrock beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
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John Flesher, chicagotribune.com, "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer seeks to shut down Great Lakes oil pipeline," 13 Nov. 2020 Rick Snyder, a Republican, in 2018 to replace the underwater segment with a new pipe that would be housed in a tunnel to be drilled through bedrock beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
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Fox News, "Michigan governor seeks shutdown of Great Lakes oil pipeline," 13 Nov. 2020 During the raid, Baghdadi ran into a dead-end tunnel with three children and killed himself by detonating a suicide vest.
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Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, "Trump awards citation to military unit responsible for raid that killed ISIS leader al Baghdadi," 30 Oct. 2020 Electrons are stored in 34 kWh worth of lithium-ion batteries, in boxy packs shoehorned into the central tunnel and between the rear shock towers.
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Dan Neil, WSJ, "Polestar 1: The World’s Most Beautiful Hybrid Car Has Arrived," 15 Oct. 2020 During his tenure as Dallas coach, Garrett would complete a game, address his players from the center of the locker room, then assume a podium in the tunnel adjacent to the locker room.
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Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, "Former Dallas coach Jason Garrett ready for first showdown with Mike McCarthy's Cowboys," 9 Oct. 2020 For the first three games of the season, New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins has elected to stay in the tunnel while the national anthem is being played.
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Amie Just | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, "Why Saints' Malcolm Jenkins stays in the tunnel for the national anthem," 30 Sep. 2020 Those hundreds of acres come to life and what was once pure competition turns into a full-fledged party, transforming the straightaway into a shrinking tunnel.
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Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, "Why fans are vital to the Indy 500: 'A 500 without fans is a 500 I don't wanna race'," 13 June 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Physicists quickly saw that particles’ ability to tunnel through barriers solved many mysteries.
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Quanta Magazine, "Quantum Tunnels Show How Particles Can Break the Speed of Light," 20 Oct. 2020 As his vision began to tunnel and his limbs lost sensation, a tugboat passed.
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Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, "Taking Back Our Privacy," 19 Oct. 2020 Go through the barriers, tunnel underneath the barriers, go around the barriers, go up over top.
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Adam Harris, The Atlantic, "The Limits of Desegregation in Washington, D.C.," 29 Sep. 2020 As the larvae continue to tunnel and feed, more pitch will bleed from the tree, like what is occurring with your tree.
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Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Pines oozing sap and browning are likely signs of Zimmerman pine moth infestation. Here’s how to treat it.," 22 Aug. 2020 Eventually, the larvae become adult insects and tunnel out of the gall.
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Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, "If pests have the ‘gall’ to cause these warty bulges on your trees or bushes, there’s not much you can do," 15 Aug. 2020 Yet over long time periods, quantum mechanics allows particles to tunnel through energetic barriers, meaning fusion can still occur, albeit at extremely low rates.
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Adam Mann, Science | AAAS, "This is the way the universe ends: not with a whimper, but a bang," 11 Aug. 2020 Subway is an obstacle that guests can tunnel through or climb over.
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Charles Infosino, Cincinnati.com, "So, what's Coney Island gonna be like with no rides?," 12 June 2020 The builders want to tunnel through a mountain some 700 feet below the level of the trail, which runs along the ridgetop and intertwines with the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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Robert Barnes, BostonGlobe.com, "US Supreme Court to decide winner in case of gas pipeline vs. Appalachian Trail," 23 Feb. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tunnel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for tunnel
tunnel
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of tunnel
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a passage that goes under the ground, through a hill, etc.
tunnel
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of tunnel (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make a tunnel
See the full definition for tunnel in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tunnel
nountun·nel | \ ˈtə-nᵊl \
\Kids Definition of tunnel
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a passage under the ground
tunnel
verbtunneled or tunnelled; tunneling or tunnelling
Kids Definition of tunnel (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make a passage under the ground
tunnel
nountun·nel | \ ˈtən-ᵊl \
\Medical Definition of tunnel
: a bodily channel — see carpal tunnel
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Time Traveler for tunnel
The first known use of tunnel was in 1508
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