tunnel

[ tuhn-l ]

noun

1. an underground passage.
2. a passageway, as for trains or automobiles, through or under an obstruction, as a city, mountain, river, harbor, or the like.
3. an approximately horizontal gallery or corridor in a mine.
4. the burrow of an animal.
5. Dialect. a funnel.

verb (used with object)

, tun·neled, tun·nel·ing or (especially British) tun·nelled, tun·nel·ling.

1. to construct a passageway through or under:

   to tunnel a mountain.

2. to make or excavate (a tunnel or underground passage):

   to tunnel a passage under a river.

3. to move or proceed by or as if by boring a tunnel:

   The river tunneled its way through the mountain.

4. to pierce or hollow out, as with tunnels.

verb (used without object)

, tun·neled, tun·nel·ing or (especially British) tun·nelled, tun·nel·ling.

1. to make a tunnel or tunnels:

   to tunnel through the Alps.

tunnel

/ ˈtʌnəl /

noun

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

verb

1. tr to make or force (a way) through or under (something)

   to tunnel a hole in the wall

   to tunnel the cliff

2. intr; foll by through, under, etc to make or force a way (through or under something)

   he tunnelled through the bracken

Derived Forms

• ˈtunneller, noun

Other Words From

• tunnel·er especially British, tunnel·ler noun
• tunnel·like adjective
• sub·tunnel noun
• un·tunneled adjective
• un·tunnelled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tunnel¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tunnel¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

see light at the end of the tunnel .

Example Sentences

Fed up with Los Angeles traffic, Elon Musk launched The Boring Co. with two tweets in 2016, promising “to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging.”

From Los Angeles Times

Natural England did not put forward the bat tunnel idea, but agreed that it would work when consulted.

From BBC

“There is this little spark of light at the end of the tunnel,” Milioti muses.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s the son of Alex Molden, an eight-year NFL cornerback, and some of his earliest memories are of NFL locker rooms, attending team family events and watching his father run out of the tunnel.

From Los Angeles Times

Other more expensive options, including a bored tunnel and re-routing the railway, were considered.

From BBC

Related Words

• burrow