tunnel

[ tuhn-l ]
/ ˈtʌn l /

noun

verb (used with object), tun·neled, tun·nel·ing or (especially British) tun·nelled, tun·nel·ling.

verb (used without object), tun·neled, tun·nel·ing or (especially British) tun·nelled, tun·nel·ling.

to make a tunnel or tunnels: to tunnel through the Alps.

Origin of tunnel

1400–50; late Middle English tonel (noun) < Middle French tonele, tonnelle funnel-shaped net, feminine of tonnel cask, diminutive of tonne tun; see -elle

OTHER WORDS FROM tunnel

Example sentences from the Web for tunnel

British Dictionary definitions for tunnel

tunnel
/ (ˈtʌnəl) /

noun

an underground passageway, esp one for trains or cars that passes under a mountain, river, or a congested urban area
any passage or channel through or under something
a dialect word for funnel
obsolete the flue of a chimney

verb -nels, -nelling or -nelled or US -nels, -neling or -neled

(tr) to make or force (a way) through or under (something) to tunnel a hole in the wall; to tunnel the cliff
(intr; foll by through, under, etc) to make or force a way (through or under something) he tunnelled through the bracken

Derived forms of tunnel

tunneller or US tunneler, noun

Word Origin for tunnel

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

Medical definitions for tunnel

tunnel
[ tŭnəl ]

n.

A passage located through or under a barrier.

Idioms and Phrases with tunnel

tunnel

see light at the end of the tunnel.