Advertisement

View synonyms for

tunnel

[ tuhn-l ]

noun

  1. an underground passage.
  2. a passageway, as for trains or automobiles, through or under an obstruction, as a city, mountain, river, harbor, or the like.
  3. an approximately horizontal gallery or corridor in a mine.
  4. the burrow of an animal.
  5. Dialect. a funnel.


verb (used with object)

tunneled, tunneling or (especially British) tunnelled, tunnelling.
  1. to construct a passageway through or under:

    to tunnel a mountain.

  2. to make or excavate (a tunnel or underground passage):

    to tunnel a passage under a river.

  3. to move or proceed by or as if by boring a tunnel:

    The river tunneled its way through the mountain.

  4. to pierce or hollow out, as with tunnels.

verb (used without object)

tunneled, tunneling or (especially British) tunnelled, tunnelling.
  1. to make a tunnel or tunnels:

    to tunnel through the Alps.

tunnel

/ ˈʌə /

noun

  1. an underground passageway, esp one for trains or cars that passes under a mountain, river, or a congested urban area
  2. any passage or channel through or under something
  3. a dialect word for funnel
  4. obsolete.
    the flue of a chimney
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. tr to make or force (a way) through or under (something)

    to tunnel a hole in the wall

    to tunnel the cliff

  2. intr; foll by through, under, etc to make or force a way (through or under something)

    he tunnelled through the bracken

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈٳܲԲԱ, noun
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • ٳܲn· especially British, ٳܲn· noun
  • ٳܲn· adjective
  • ܲ·ٳܲn noun
  • ܲ·ٳܲn adjective
  • ܲ·ٳܲn adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of tunnel1

1400–50; late Middle English tonel (noun) < Middle French tonele, tonnelle funnel-shaped net, feminine of tonnel cask, diminutive of tonne tun; -elle
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of tunnel1

C15: from Old French tonel cask, from tonne tun, from Medieval Latin tonna barrel, of Celtic origin
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

see light at the end of the tunnel .
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The Public Order Act the following year broadened the police's powers to manage protests and brought in new criminal offences including "locking on" to objects, causing serious disruption by tunnelling, and interfering with major infrastructure.

From

A record-breaking tunnel is being built under the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Germany, which will slash travel times and improve Scandinavia's links with the rest of Europe.

From

This week, millions of dollars in gold and jewels were stolen from a downtown L.A. jeweler’s two safes after burglars tunneled into the shop through multiple reinforced walls.

From

“You’re seeing a glowing tunnel of hot air that might be 10 miles in diameter produced by this very tiny little pebble that’s passing through the atmosphere and burns up,” Krupp said.

From

Its regulations say walk-on music is played as the players emerge from the tunnel, followed by the Champions League anthem once they have lined up.

From

Advertisement

Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


tunnagetunnel diode