vacuum tube

noun

: an electron tube evacuated to a high degree of vacuum

Examples of vacuum tube in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Unsurprisingly, this took a few attempts to get right—resulting in three vacuum tubes exploding. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 July 2026

However, in the early days of computing, the outcome was far from clear, as computing technology evolved through mechanical systems, electromechanical relays, vacuum tubes and other techniques before transistors ultimately became the standard. — Paul Lipman, Forbes.com, 10 June 2026

The students installed 500 simulated vacuum tubes in each of the panels here, for a total of 18,000 vacuum tubes. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026

Its first system, introduced April 29, 1952, the IBM Model 701 Electronic Data Processing Machine, ran on vacuum tubes, had stored programs and several types of storage, including magnetic tapes. — Paul Edward Parker, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for vacuum tube

• hypercube
• nanotube
• phototube
• boob
• cube
• lube
• rube

Kids Definition

vacuum tube

noun

: an electron tube from which most of the air has been removed

Medical Definition

vacuum tube

noun

: an electronic device in which conduction by electrons takes place through a vacuum within a sealed glass or metal container and which has various uses based on the controlled flow of electrons