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Synonyms

duct

American  
[duhkt] / dʌkt /

noun

  1. any tube, canal, pipe, or conduit by which a fluid, air, or other substance is conducted or conveyed.

  2. Anatomy, Zoology. a tube, canal, or vessel conveying a body fluid, especially a glandular secretion or excretion.

  3. Botany. a cavity or vessel formed by elongated cells or by many cells.

  4. Electricity. a single enclosed runway for conductors or cables.

  5. Printing. (in a press) the reservoir for ink.

verb (used with object)

  1. to convey or channel by means of a duct or ducts.

    Heat from the oven is ducted to the outside.
duct British  
/ dʌkt /

noun

  1. a tube, pipe, or canal by means of which a substance, esp a fluid or gas, is conveyed

  2. any bodily passage, esp one conveying secretions or excretions

  3. a narrow tubular cavity in plants, often containing resin or some other substance

  4. Also called: conduit.  a channel or pipe carrying electric cable or wires

  5. a passage through which air can flow, as in air conditioning

  6. the ink reservoir in a printing press

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
duct Scientific  
/ dŭkt /

  1. A tube or tubelike structure through which something flows, especially a tube in the body for carrying a fluid secreted that is by a gland.

Other Word Forms

  • ductless adjective

Etymology

Origin of duct

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin ductus “conveyance (of water),” hence “channel” (in Medieval Latin ), equivalent to duc- (variant stem of dūcere “to lead”) + -tus suffix of verbal action

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

CA19-9 levels can rise in non-cancerous conditions like pancreatitis or bile duct obstruction, and some people do not produce the marker at all due to genetic differences.

From Science Daily • Mar. 23, 2026

He covered a doorbell camera at his home with duct tape at about 07:35 on the day of the shooting.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

The duct-tape solution assumes you have duct tape — but the West’s is now in China because it was cheaper.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 3, 2026

“Every time he laid down it would irritate the skin and cause it to bleed. I was putting duct tape to fix it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2025

And while we were all for using duct tape on a drainpipe or a fender, it could never hold together something as important as a soul.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.