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tube

tube

106 2.4
An underground railway in London that carries people
  • noun
  • /tjuːb/
  • UK
translation icon : metro de Londres
  • Doesn't quite work in the Tube, I was going to say.
  • the Tube in London

Examples

  • - I'll get the Tube back.

  • I took the Tube to get to the city center quickly.

  • Just go, go on the tube right under the, the, the sea.

  • To do so, I took a train into London, then the "tube" to the proper station.

    Academic text (1994)
  • We're in a tube.

  • "I walked a few paces down the Tube and stopped at Ike's door.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The Tube was crowded during the morning rush hour.

  • You can easily navigate London by using the Tube system.

Synonyms

subway
vstube
  • US
268 1.0

Underground trains that carry people in a city

is used specifically in London for that same rail network
metro
vstube
50 1.8

An underground train system in a city that carries people

is the London specific name for that urban transit system
subway system
vstube
  • US
17 2.4

Electric trains that run under a city and carry many people

is the London term for that city's rail network
underground
vstube
  • UK
7 3.6

An electric train system that runs below a city's streets

is the London specific name for that city's railway system

Idioms

Try to make things the way they were after they changed

A change that cannot be undone or taken back

Compounds

test tube
  • Specialized
18 2.8

A small glass tube closed at one end used in labs to hold, heat, or mix liquids

Fallopian tube
  • Specialized
8 5.5

One of two thin tubes in a woman's body that carry an egg from the ovary to the womb

7 2.6

A rubber part inside a tire that holds air

vacuum tube
  • Archaic
5 5.3

A glass or metal tube with empty space inside that controls electricity

torpedo tube
  • Specialized
4 7.0

A tube in a warship or submarine that fires a torpedo

boob tube
  • Archaic
4 8.8

A television set people watch to see shows

test-tube baby
  • Informal
3 4.2

A baby that doctors make from an egg and sperm outside the mother's body and put in her womb

glass tube
  • Specialized
3 2.9

A thin round container made of glass used in a lab to hold liquids

bronchial tube
  • Specialized
1 3.0

A tube that carries air from the windpipe into the lungs

1 6.0

A large glass device in old TVs and computer screens that makes pictures with a beam of electrons

picture tube
  • Archaic
1 5.8

A long glass tube inside old televisions that makes the picture on the screen

tube foot
  • Specialized
1 9.1

A small soft tube with a sucker that starfish and sea urchins use to move, eat, and breathe

tube steak
  • Slang
1 8.9

A sausage served in a bun, often sold at outdoor events

endotracheal tube
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A flexible tube placed in the windpipe to keep the airway open and help breathing

neural tube
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A tube in an embryo that becomes the brain and spinal cord

neon tube
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A glass container filled with neon gas that glows when electricity passes through it

Eustachian tube
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A narrow tube that connects the middle ear to the throat and equalizes ear pressure

Pitot tube
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A small tube that measures how fast air moves to show an airplane's speed

speaking tube
  • Archaic
1 7.9

A tube that carries a person's voice between rooms

blow tube
  • Specialized
8.2

A tube that sends air into a flame to make it hotter

8.4

A tube like a straw that sends small darts when someone blows into it

boron counter tube
  • Specialized
8.1

A tube filled with boron that detects neutrons in experiments

capillary tube
  • Specialized
4.6

A very thin tube that makes liquid climb inside it without a pump

calyx tube
  • Specialized
9.9

A tube-shaped part of a flower that holds the leaf-like parts under the petals, often seen in roses

cartilaginous tube
  • Specialized
8.0

A tube in the body with walls of cartilage, like the trachea or ear canal

4.1

A large glass part inside old televisions that shows pictures in color

color tube
  • Archaic
7.2

Part of a television that shows pictures in color

color TV tube
  • Archaic
3.5

A glass bulb inside older televisions that makes the screen show color pictures

counter tube
  • Specialized
9.1

A device that detects radiation by counting particles in a tube filled with gas

Crookes tube
  • Archaic
9.9

A partly empty glass container that makes glowing rays when electricity passes through it and helped find electrons

digestive tube
  • Specialized
3.4

A tube from the mouth to the anus where food is digested and waste leaves the body

electron tube
  • Archaic
6.9

A glass or metal device that controls electric current in old radios and televisions

acorn tube
  • Archaic
9.8

A small vacuum tube shaped like an acorn used for high-frequency radio signals

auditory tube
  • Specialized
5.3

A tube that connects the middle ear to the back of the nose to make ear pressure the same

Kundt's tube
  • Specialized
9.9

An instrument that makes standing sound waves visible in a tube to measure sound speed in air or solids

gas-discharge tube
  • Specialized
5.4

A sealed tube where electricity makes the gas inside glow

Geiger tube
  • Specialized
8.0

A small tube inside a Geiger counter that gives a signal when radiation passes through

Geiger-Muller tube
  • Specialized
5.7

A thin tube inside a Geiger counter that detects radiation

germ tube
  • Specialized
8.2

Thin tube that grows out of a spore when it starts to grow, often in fungi

glow tube
  • Specialized
7.9

A glass or metal tube filled with gas that makes light when electricity passes through it

ionization tube
  • Specialized
8.3

A device that measures radiation by detecting tiny charged particles in a gas tube

nasotracheal tube
  • Specialized
7.4

A tube inserted through the nose into the windpipe to help a person breathe

8.2

A tube that detects radiation and gives an electrical signal showing how strong the radiation is

rectifying tube
  • Archaic
9.8

A glass tube with two metal parts that changes alternating current into direct current

Pitot-static tube
  • Specialized
9.1

A small tube on a plane that measures air pressure to show the speed of the plane

pollen tube
  • Specialized
5.5

A thin tube from a pollen grain that grows to carry male cells to the ovule for fertilization

porn tube
  • Offensive
7.7

A website that shows sex videos for adults, often for free

An electronic tube in early television cameras that turns light into electrical signals

A device used in old television cameras to change an image into electronic signals

television tube
  • Archaic
5.9

A glass tube inside old TVs that makes the picture on the screen

thermionic tube
  • Archaic
9.8

A glass or metal device that controls the flow of electricity in old radios and machines

A glass or metal tube that uses heat to make electricity flow without air

A part of a television that uses three colors to make pictures

tricolor tube
  • Archaic
7.8

A part inside a color television that makes red, green and blue pictures

tube-nosed bat
  • Australian
9.8

A fruit bat with nostrils that stick out like small tubes

9.5

A bat that eats fruit and has tube-shaped nostrils that point away from each other

tube well
  • Indian
4.8

A deep hole with a long metal pipe that brings water up from underground

tube wrench
  • Specialized
4.8

A tool with two jaws that have teeth and that grips and turns pipes

Having nostrils shaped like small tubes

sieve tube
  • Specialized
7.2

A tube made of cells joined end to end that carries nutrients in flowering plants and some algae

static tube
  • Specialized
8.1

A device placed in moving air or water that measures pressure

uterine tube
  • Specialized
4.6

One of two tubes that carry an egg from the ovary to the uterus

Venturi tube
  • Specialized
7.4

A tube with a narrow middle that measures how fast liquid moves in a pipe by lowering pressure

water tube
  • Specialized
5.3

A tube in a boiler that carries water to be heated to make steam

X-ray tube
  • Specialized
4.0

A tube with no air that makes X rays when fast electrons hit metal

How Deep

tube
  • UK
106 2.4
underground
  • UK
7 3.6
metro
50 1.8
monorail
17 3.7
to tram
  • UK
7.2

Surface Forms

tube singular
tubes plural

Etymology

Tube for London's underground comes from the round, 'tube'-shaped tunnels the trains run through, so people call the subway 'the Tube'.