Tube

How to spell tube

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce tube

What does tube mean?

1. nounA long hollow cylinder used to hold or carry liquids, gases, or other contents.

Tube in a sentence

• She squeezed the last of the paint from the tube.

• The plumber replaced a cracked tube under the sink.

Where does tube come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin tubus, which literally meant a pipe or hollow cylinder and was related to tuba, the long straight Roman trumpet. French took the Latin word as tube, and English borrowed it from French in the early 1600s to describe any hollow, pipe-like object. Over the following centuries the sense broadened naturally: from anatomical tubes inside the body to glass laboratory tubes, then to inner tubes, toothpaste tubes, and electronic vacuum tubes. In Britain the word also became the affectionate nickname for the London Underground railway, whose deep, round tunnels really do look like giant tubes. The spelling stays close to its Latin and French ancestor, which is why it is short and regular and rarely trips anyone up.

How the word is built

• tube (single root from Latin tubus: pipe, hollow cylinder)