tube

Everyday

1. A long, hollow pipe, often round, that liquid or air can go through, like a tube in an experiment or a breathing tube. tree →
2. A soft container you squeeze, like a tube of toothpaste or glue. tree →
3. The Tube is the underground railway in London. tree →
4. Informal, mostly American and Australian: the TV ("on the tube"). tree →
5. A swim ring or rubber ring you float on is sometimes called a tube. tree →

In the lessons

In science, test tubes hold small amounts of liquids in experiments, and the body has tubes like the windpipe (trachea) and food pipe; plants have tiny tubes that carry water. In everyday life we squeeze toothpaste from a tube and travel on the Tube in London. In art, paint comes in tubes. Phrases: "test tube", "a tube of toothpaste", "inner tube" (inside a bike tyre), "take the Tube", "cardboard tube".

Examples

• Squeeze a small blob from the tube of toothpaste. tree →
• The scientist poured the liquid into a test tube. tree →
• We took the Tube to the museum in London. tree →
• The bike tyre has an inner tube full of air. tree →
• Make a telescope from a cardboard tube. tree →
• Water travels up tiny tubes inside the plant stem. tree →
• The paint tube was almost empty. tree →
• Air goes down a tube called the windpipe to your lungs. tree →
• He accordingly contrived to steal some sparks from the chariot of the sun, which he conveyed to earth hidden in a hollow tube. tree →

Note

Countable: one tube, two tubes. "The Tube" with a capital T means the London Underground; New Yorkers say "the subway". A cylinder in maths is the solid shape; a tube is usually hollow. Squeeze tubes from the bottom so nothing is wasted.