Definitions for tunnel
ˈtʌn ltun·nel

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tunnelnoun

   a passageway through or under something, usually underground (especially one for trains or cars)

   "the tunnel reduced congestion at that intersection"

2. burrow, tunnelverb

   a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter

3. burrow, tunnelverb

   move through by or as by digging

   "burrow through the forest"

4. tunnelverb

   force a way through

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tunnelnoun

   An underground or underwater passage.

2. tunnelnoun

   A passage through or under some obstacle.

3. tunnelnoun

   A hole in the ground made by an animal, a burrow.

4. tunnelverb

   To make a tunnel through or under something, to burrow.

5. tunnelverb

   To make a tunnel.

6. Etymology: From tonnelle.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tunnelnoun

   1. The shaft of a chimney; the passage for the smoke.

   It was a vault ybuilt for great dispence,
   With many ranges rear’d along the wall,
   And one great chimney, whose long tunnel thence
   The smoak forth threw. Fairy Queen.

   The water being rarified, and by rarification resolved into wind, will force up the smoke, which otherwise might linger in the tunnel, and oftentimes reverse. Henry Wotton, Arch.

   2. A funnel; a pipe by which liquor is poured into vessels.

   For the help of the hearing, make an instrument like a tunnel, the narrow part of the bigness of the hole of the ear, and the broader end much larger. Francis Bacon.

   3. A net wide at the mouth, and ending in a point, and so resembling a funnel or tunnel.

2. To Tunnelverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To form like a tunnel.

   The Phalænæ tribe inhabit the tunnelled, convolved leaves. William Derham, Physico-Theology.

   2. To catch in a net.3. This word is used by Derham for to make net-work; to reticulate.

   Some birds not only weave the fibrous parts of vegetables, and curiously tunnel them into nests, but artificially suspend them on the twigs of trees. William Derham.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tunnel

   A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods. A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. The central portions of a rapid transit network are usually in the tunnel. Some tunnels are used as sewers or aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations. Utility tunnels are used for routing steam, chilled water, electrical power or telecommunication cables, as well as connecting buildings for convenient passage of people and equipment. Secret tunnels are built for military purposes, or by civilians for smuggling of weapons, contraband, or people. Special tunnels, such as wildlife crossings, are built to allow wildlife to cross human-made barriers safely. Tunnels can be connected together in tunnel networks.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tunnel

   a vessel with a broad mouth at one end, a pipe or tube at the other, for conveying liquor, fluids, etc., into casks, bottles, or other vessels; a funnel

2. Tunnel

   the opening of a chimney for the passage of smoke; a flue; a funnel

3. Tunnel

   an artificial passage or archway for conducting canals or railroads under elevated ground, for the formation of roads under rivers or canals, and the construction of sewers, drains, and the like

4. Tunnel

   a level passage driven across the measures, or at right angles to veins which it is desired to reach; -- distinguished from the drift, or gangway, which is led along the vein when reached by the tunnel

5. Tunnelverb

   to form into a tunnel, or funnel, or to form like a tunnel; as, to tunnel fibrous plants into nests

6. Tunnelverb

   to catch in a tunnel net

7. Tunnelverb

   to make an opening, or a passageway, through or under; as, to tunnel a mountain; to tunnel a river

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tunnel

   A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. The central portions of a rapid transit network are usually built in tunnels. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers. Utility tunnels are used for routing steam, chilled water, electrical power. or telecommunication cables, as well as connecting buildings for convenient passage of people and equipment. Secret tunnels are built for military purposes, or by civilians for smuggling of weapons, contraband, or people. Special tunnels, such as wildlife crossings, are built to allow wildlife to cross human-made barriers safely.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tunnel

   tun′el, n. an arched passage cut through a hill or under a river, &c.: the long underground burrow of certain animals, as the mole: any mine-level open at one end: (Spens.) a flue, chimney.—v.t. to make a passage through: to hollow out:—pr.p. tunn′elling; pa.t. and pa.p. tunn′elled.—n. Tunn′el-net, a net wide at the mouth and narrow at the other end. [O. Fr. tonnel (Fr. tonneau), a cask; also O. Fr. tonnelle, an arched vault, dim. of tonne, a cask.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tunnel

   A type of space and structure created and designed in various colors, materials, mechanisms, shapes, styles and sizes for a specific purpose.

   Tunnels are necessary in certain parts of the e.g. through the alps & the channel tunnel.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on December 19, 2019  

Matched Categories

1. • Car
   • Dig
   • Passageway
   • Penetrate

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tunnel' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3965

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tunnel' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4383

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tunnel' in Nouns Frequency: #1408

Anagrams for tunnel »

1. unlent

2. nunlet

How to pronounce tunnel?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say tunnel in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of tunnel in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of tunnel in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of tunnel in a Sentence

1. Richard Lee:

   As her father, I want them to find nothing, then it leaves the theory that she was abducted, my family feels they have walked in a nightmare down a dark tunnel.

2. Augustine Tang:

   I do believe that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and I really do think that we can make changes when we get enough people together, we're going to keep fighting for it. We're going to keep making noise.

3. Don Winslow:

   If he went out that tunnel, it was with an armed escort, most likely a mix of prison guards and his own people, if the past is prologue.

4. Sean Kelley:

   Prisons are designed to punish, to keep people afraid, to deter, this prison changed everything though. The people who built this prison said 'why not rehabilitate, why not inspire penance?' So they built this building calling it a penitentiary. The prison at that time was state-of-the-art, revolutionary and the most expensive in the world. In operation from 1829 to 1971, thousands passed through the large gates in the 142 years it was in operation. The prisoners included some notorious criminals like Al Capone and bank robber William Slick Willie Sutton. Sutton, in fact, was part of a 1945 jailbreak. He and 11 other prisoners built a tunnel they thought would carry them to freedom. Instead, within months after the well-planned escape, all 12 inmates who broke out were caught and returned. Slick Willie was captured just 3 minutes after breaking free. In operation from 1829 to 1971, thousands passed through the large gates in the 142 years it was in operation. The prisoners included some notorious criminals like Al Capone and bank robber William.

5. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan:

   The US said that Baghdadi killed himself in a tunnel and started a serious PR campaign. We captured his wife, but we didn't make a fuss, I'm declaring this for the first time.

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