What does "tube" mean?
Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape.
Tube
/tuːb/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape.
- Grammar: tube is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: subway, underground, adjutage, amplifier.
- Useful contrasts: aboveground transit, bottle, jar.
- Usage evidence: The tube was shattered by the explosion.
How to use "tube"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tube" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tube" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tube" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tube" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tube" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "subway" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tube", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape.
"But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶[…]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window […], and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them."
- 2 an electric railway operating below the surface of the ground (usually in a city) wordnet
- 3 An approximately cylindrical container, usually with a crimped end and a screw top, used to contain and dispense semiliquid substances.
"A tube of toothpaste."
- 4 conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases wordnet
- 5 The London Underground railway system, originally referred to the lower level lines that ran in tubular tunnels as opposed to the higher ones which ran in rectangular section tunnels. (Often the tube.) British, capitalized, colloquial, often
"I took the tube to Waterloo and walked the rest of the way."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 electronic device consisting of a system of electrodes arranged in an evacuated glass or metal envelope wordnet
- 7 The London Underground railway system, originally referred to the lower level lines that ran in tubular tunnels as opposed to the higher ones which ran in rectangular section tunnels. (Often the tube.); One of the tubular tunnels of the London Underground. British, capitalized, colloquial, obsolete, often
"And thus it came about that on that October morning I found myself in the deep level tube with the Professor speeding to the North of London in what proved to be one of the most singular experiences of my remarkable life."
- 8 (anatomy) any hollow cylindrical body structure wordnet
- 9 A tin can containing beer. Australia, slang
"It's alright to cop a warm tube of Fosters and a cold pie 'n' peas when you're dated by one of the locals[.]"
- 10 a hollow cylindrical shape wordnet
- 11 A wave which pitches forward when breaking, creating a hollow space inside.
"It seemed like Butch was invincible, like he could do nothing wrong, coming through one unbelievable tube after another."
- 12 A television. Compare cathode ray tube and picture tube. Canada, US, colloquial
"Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, […]"
- 13 An idiot. Scotland, slang
"'Don't be a bloody tube, Jack,' she told me. (I always loved it when she used Scottish terms of abuse in that English accent of hers.)"
Verb
- 1 To supply with, or enclose in, a tube. transitive
"She tubes lipstick in the cosmetics factory."
- 2 place or enclose in a tube wordnet
- 3 To ride an inner tube. transitive
"They tubed down the Colorado River."
- 4 ride or float on an inflated tube wordnet
- 5 To intubate. colloquial, transitive
"The patient was tubed."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 convey in a tube wordnet
- 7 provide with a tube or insert a tube into wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 The London Underground. informal
"But 'Tube' is used as shorthand for the whole network, not least by London Underground itself, [...] It tends to be older people who hold on to the distinction. A friend of mine was visiting his mother who lives about 500 yards from Parsons Green station on the District, which is a cut-and-cover line [not a tube line]. At the end of the evening she said, "How are you getting back?" He said, "Oh, on the Tube", and she looked at him absolutely blankly. "What Tube?" she said, "There is no Tube here.""
Example
"The tube was shattered by the explosion."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tube"?
Common synonyms include: subway, underground, adjutage, amplifier, amtrak, anode.
How do you use "tube" in a sentence?
The tube was shattered by the explosion.
How do you pronounce "tube"?
Pronounced /tuːb/.
Etymology
From Middle French tube, from Latin tubus (“tube, pipe”), related to tuba (“long trumpet; war-trumpet”), of obscure ultimate origin, but possibly connected to tībia (“shinbone, reed-pipe”); see there. Doublet of tubus.