down the tubes
Ads
Pompano Beach Welders www.weldingbygeorge.com/ We provide all types of welding and fabrication services; AWS certified
TheraTub - Walk-In Tub www.theratub.com/ Certified Made In The USA! Lifetime Warranty, Lowest Step-In
noun
1.
a hollow, usually cylindrical body of metal, glass, rubber, or other material, used especially 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.
6.
Electronics. electron tube.
7.
8.
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.
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.
00:10
Down the tubes
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
18.
down the tube/tubes, Informal. into a ruined, wasted, or abandoned state or condition.
Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin tubus pipe
1590–1600; < Latin tubus pipe
Related forms
tube·less, adjective
tube·like, adjective
mul·ti·tube, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To down the tubes
Collins
World English Dictionary
tube (tjuːb) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a long hollow and typically cylindrical object, used for the passage of fluids or as a container |
| 2. | a collapsible cylindrical container of soft metal or plastic closed with a cap, used to hold viscous liquids or pastes |
| 3. | anatomy |
| a. Eustachian tube short for Fallopian tube | |
| b. any hollow cylindrical structure | |
| 4. | botany |
| a. the lower part of a gamopetalous corolla or gamosepalous calyx, below the lobes | |
| b. any other hollow structure in a plant | |
| 5. | (Brit) the tube |
| a. Also called: the underground, US and Canadian equivalent: subway an underground railway system | |
| b. the tunnels through which the railway runs | |
| c. the train itself | |
| d. (capital) trademark the London underground railway system | |
| 6. | electronics |
| a. another name for valve | |
| b. electron tube cathode-ray tube See television tube | |
| 7. | slang the tube a television set |
| 8. | slang (Brit) a stupid or despicable person |
| 9. | slang (Austral) a bottle or can of beer |
| 10. | surfing the cylindrical passage formed when a wave breaks and the crest tips forward |
| 11. | an archaic word for telescope |
| —vb | |
| 12. | to fit or supply with a tube or tubes |
| 13. | to carry or convey in a tube |
| 14. | to shape like a tube |
| [C17: from Latin tubus] | |
| 'tubeless | |
| —adj | |
| 'tube-like | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
tube (t&oomacr;b, ty&oomacr;b)
n.
A hollow cylinder, especially one that conveys a fluid or functions as a passage.
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
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
tube definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
down the tubes
Also, down the tube. Into a state of failure or ruin, as in If he failed the test, his chances went down the tubes. ] Colloquial; 1960s] Also see down the drain.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
