Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

down the tube

 - 6 dictionary results
Down The Tube at Amazon
Low Prices on Down the tube Free 2-Day Shipping w/ Amazon Prime
www.Amazon.com/Books

tube

  [toob, tyoob] noun, verb, tubed, tub⋅ing.
Use down the tube in a Sentence
–noun
1. a hollow, usually cylindrical body of metal, glass, rubber, or other material, used esp. for conveying or containing liquids or gases.
2. a small, collapsible, cylinder of metal or plastic sealed at one end and having a capped opening at the other from which paint, toothpaste, or some other semifluid substance may be squeezed.
3. Anatomy, Zoology. any hollow, cylindrical vessel or organ: the bronchial tubes.
4. Botany.
a. any hollow, elongated body or part.
b. the united lower portion of a gamopetalous corolla or a gamosepalous calyx.
5. inner tube.
6. Electronics. electron tube.
7. Informal.
a. television.
b. a television set.
8. mailing tube.
9. the tubular tunnel in which an underground railroad runs.
10. the railroad itself.
11. Surfing Slang. the curled hollow formed on the underside of a cresting wave.
12. British. subway (def. 1).
13. Australian Slang. a can of beer.
14. Older Slang. a telescope.
–verb (used with object)
15. to furnish with a tube or tubes.
16. to convey or enclose in a tube.
17. to form into the shape of a tube; make tubular.
—Idiom
18. down the tube or tubes, Informal. into a ruined, wasted, or abandoned state or condition.
Origin:
1590–1600; < L tubus pipe

Related forms:
tubeless, adjective
tubelike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To down the tube
Down The Tube at Amazon
Low Prices on Down the tube Free 2-Day Shipping w/ Amazon Prime
www.Amazon.com/Books
tube   (tōōb, tyōōb)   
n.  

    1. A hollow cylinder, especially one that conveys a fluid or functions as a passage.

    2. An organic structure having the shape or function of a tube; a duct: a bronchial tube.

    3. An electron tube.

    4. A vacuum tube.

    5. An underground railroad tunnel.

    6. An underground railroad system, especially the one in London, England.

    7. An inner tube.

    8. An inflatable tube or cushion made of rubber or plastic and used for recreational riding, as behind a motor boat or down a snow-covered slope.

    9. Television: What's on the tube?

    10. A television set.

  2. A small flexible cylindrical container sealed at one end and having a screw cap at the other, for pigments, toothpaste, or other pastelike substances.

  3. Music The cylindrical part of a wind instrument.

  4. Electronics

    1. An electron tube.

    2. A vacuum tube.

    3. An underground railroad tunnel.

    4. An underground railroad system, especially the one in London, England.

    5. An inner tube.

    6. An inflatable tube or cushion made of rubber or plastic and used for recreational riding, as behind a motor boat or down a snow-covered slope.

    7. Television: What's on the tube?

    8. A television set.

  5. Botany The lower, cylindrical part of a gamopetalous corolla or a gamosepalous calyx.

  6. Chiefly British

    1. An underground railroad tunnel.

    2. An underground railroad system, especially the one in London, England.

    3. An inner tube.

    4. An inflatable tube or cushion made of rubber or plastic and used for recreational riding, as behind a motor boat or down a snow-covered slope.

    5. Television: What's on the tube?

    6. A television set.

  7. A tunnel.

    1. An inner tube.

    2. An inflatable tube or cushion made of rubber or plastic and used for recreational riding, as behind a motor boat or down a snow-covered slope.

    3. Television: What's on the tube?

    4. A television set.

  9. Informal

    1. Television: What's on the tube?

    2. A television set.

  10. tubes Informal The fallopian tubes.

v.   tubed, tub·ing, tubes

v.   tr.

  1. To provide with a tube; insert a tube in.

  2. To place in or enclose in a tube.

v.   intr.
To ride or float on an inflated tube for recreation.

[French, from Old French, from Latin tubus.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
tube

  1. n.
    a can of beer. (See also crack a tube.) : Toss me a tube, will ya?
  2. n.
    the inner curve of a tall wave. (Surfing. See also tubular.) : I'm waiting for the best tube.
  3. in.
    to fail; to go down the tube(s). (See also tube it.) : The whole plan tubed at the last minute.
  4. n.
    a television set. : The tube is in the shop, so I read a book.
  5. n.
    a cigarette. : There's a pack of tubes in my jacket.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

tube 
1611, from M.Fr. tube (1460), from L. tubus "tube, pipe," of unknown origin. The London subway was christened the Twopenny Tube before it even opened (H.D. Browne, in the "Londoner" of June 30, 1900); tube for "cylindrical railway tunnel" is attested from 1847. The meaning "TV as a medium" is from 1959, short for cathode ray tube or picture tube. Tube top as a women's clothing style is attested from 1972. Tubular is attested from 1673, "having the form of a tube or pipe," but the modern slang sense is from 1982, Valspeak, from surfers' slang for a hollow, curling wave, ideal for riding. Tube steak is attested from 1963 as "frankfurter," slang meaning "penis" is recorded by mid-1980s. Tubing as a recreational pastime is recorded from 1975.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2tube
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: tubed; tub·ing
: to furnish with, enclose in, or pass through a tubetubed —Anesthesia Digest>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

tube (t&oomacr;b, ty&oomacr;b)
n.

  1. A hollow cylinder, especially one that conveys a fluid or functions as a passage.

  2. An anatomical structure or organ having the shape or function of a tube; a duct.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see down the tube on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way