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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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈٳܲԲԱ, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • ٳܲn· especially British, ٳܲn· noun
  • ٳܲn· adjective
  • ܲ·ٳܲn noun
  • ܲ·ٳܲn adjective
  • ܲ·ٳܲn adjective
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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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tunnel1

C15: from Old French tonel cask, from tonne tun, from Medieval Latin tonna barrel, of Celtic origin
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Idioms and Phrases

see light at the end of the tunnel .
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

When the BBC World Service Eye Investigations team visited the area, Turkish aircraft pummelled the mountains surrounding the village to root out PKK militants, who have long operated from caves and tunnels in northern Iraq.

From

Passengers on the Barcelona metro had to walk to safety using the torches on their mobile phones when their trains became stuck in tunnels.

From

She is expecting her first baby with a new partner, and says this shows that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.

From

The panic industry used to cater mainly to the wealthy, as escape tunnels and secret rooms aren’t cheap to install.

From

Traffic lights being affected led to the mayor of Madrid to ask residents to keep the roads clear as tunnels of certain highways were closed.

From

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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.

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