TUNNEL (tunnelled, tunnelling)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: tunnelled    , tunnelling   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tunnel mean? 

• TUNNEL (noun)
  The noun TUNNEL has 2 senses:

1. a passageway through or under something, usually underground (especially one for trains or cars)

2. a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter

  Familiarity information: TUNNEL used as a noun is rare.

• TUNNEL (verb)
  The verb TUNNEL has 2 senses:

1. move through by or as by digging

2. force a way through

  Familiarity information: TUNNEL used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TUNNEL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A passageway through or under something, usually underground (especially one for trains or cars)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

the tunnel reduced congestion at that intersection

Hypernyms ("tunnel" is a kind of...):

passageway (a passage between rooms or between buildings)

Meronyms (parts of "tunnel"):

shaft (a long vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for a mine or tunnel)

Domain category:

auto; automobile; car; machine; motorcar (a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tunnel"):

catacomb (an underground tunnel with recesses where bodies were buried (as in ancient Rome))

railroad tunnel (a tunnel through which the railroad track runs)

subway; underpass (an underground tunnel or passage enabling pedestrians to cross a road or railway)

Derivation:

tunnel (force a way through)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A hole made by an animal, usually for shelter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

burrow; tunnel

Hypernyms ("tunnel" is a kind of...):

hole; hollow (a depression hollowed out of solid matter)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tunnel"):

rabbit warren; warren (a series of connected underground tunnels occupied by rabbits)

Derivation:

tunnel (move through by or as by digging)

• TUNNEL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they tunnel    ... he / she / it tunnels   
Past simple: tunneled    / tunnelled   
Past participle: tunneled    / tunnelled   
-ing form: tunneling    / tunnelling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move through by or as by digging

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

burrow; tunnel

Context example:

burrow through the forest

Hypernyms (to "tunnel" is one way to...):

cut into; delve; dig; turn over (turn up, loosen, or remove earth)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

tunnel (a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Force a way through

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tunnel" is one way to...):

penetrate; perforate (pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

tunnel (a passageway through or under something, usually underground (especially one for trains or cars))

 Context examples 

The tissue flap, along with its blood vessels, stays connected to the body and is passed through a tunnel under the skin to the chest.

(Pedicle flap, NCI Dictionary)

You are aware that the Underground runs clear of tunnels at some points in the West End.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There had been, so far as we could follow their signs, a tunnel by which the place could be approached, the lower exit of which we had seen from below.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson’s presence—in other words, that they had completed their tunnel.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This is usually done by passing the muscle tissue and blood vessels through a tunnel under the skin to the chest.

(Latissimus dorsi flap, NCI Dictionary)

They seem to be looking through a tunnel.

(Glaucoma, NIH: National Eye Institute)

The oblique anatomic tunnel in the anterior lower abdomen.

(Inguinal Canal, NCI Thesaurus)

The cells forming the outer spiraled tunnel walls in the organ of Corti within the inner ear.

(Outer Rod of the Corti, NCI Thesaurus)

A material used in medical and dental practice for filling a natural cavity or deep or tunneled wound.

(Packing Material, NCI Thesaurus)

In the defective enzyme, the tunnel does not function properly.

(Alcohol Could be Toxic and Cause DNA Damage for Some People, NIH, US)