HomeServicesBlogDictionariesContactSpanish Course
← Back to search

Meaning of tube | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2 Frequent
tuːb

Definitions

  1. Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape
  2. Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape.
  3. The London Underground.
    informal
  4. An approximately cylindrical container, usually with a crimped end and a screw top, used to contain and dispense semiliquid substances
  5. An approximately cylindrical container, usually with a crimped end and a screw top, used to contain and dispense semiliquid substances.
  6. The London Underground railway system, originally referred to the lower level lines that ran in tubular tunnels as opposed to the higher ones which ran in rectangular section tunnels. (Often the tube.)
  7. One of the tubular tunnels of the London Underground
  8. One of the tubular tunnels of the London Underground.
    British, capitalized, colloquial, obsolete, often
  9. A tin can containing beer
  10. A tin can containing beer.
    Australia, slang
  11. A wave which pitches forward when breaking, creating a hollow space inside.
  12. A television. Compare cathode ray tube and picture tube.
    Canada, US, colloquial
  13. An idiot.
    Scotland, slang

Equivalents

العربية أنبوبة الإنبوب
Беларуская цюбік
Bosanski metro банка
Català tub
Čeština tuba
Español chisguete metro tubo
Suomi metro putki putkilo tölkki tuubi
Galego lata tubo
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi ʻohe
עברית שפופרת
Hrvatski metro банка
Magyar metró
Bahasa Indonesia kaleng tabung
한국어 튜브
Kurdî lo metro tub
Nederlands metro tube
Polski puszka tuba tubka
Português bisnaga lata latinha tubo
Српски metro банка
Kiswahili mrija tyubu
ไทย หลอด
Українська туба
Tiếng Việt lon lon thiếc ông

Examples

“But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶[…]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window […], and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them.”
“A tube of toothpaste.”
“I took the tube to Waterloo and walked the rest of the way.”
“He took the tube to Westminster and disappeared.”
“The economist also observed that some of the Victoria Line's cost should be debited to existing lines, as they would benefit from the rebuilding of their interchange stations with the new tube.”
“And thus it came about that on that October morning I found myself in the deep level tube with the Professor speeding to the North of London in what proved to be one of the most singular experiences of my remarkable life.”
“It's alright to cop a warm tube of Fosters and a cold pie 'n' peas when you're dated by one of the locals[.]”
“Tinnie: a tin of beer — also called a tube.”
“Beer is also available from bottleshops (or bottle-o's) in cases (or 'slabs') of 24-36 cans (‘tinnies' or ‘tubes') or bottles (‘stubbies') of 375ml each.”
“That Humphries should imply that, in the Foster's ads, Hogan's ocker appropriated McKenzie's discourse (specifically the idiom "crack an ice-cold tube") reinforces my contention.”
“It seemed like Butch was invincible, like he could do nothing wrong, coming through one unbelievable tube after another.”
“Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, […]”
“I sit around and watch the tube, but nothing's on. I change the channels for an hour or two.”
“'Don't be a bloody tube, Jack,' she told me. (I always loved it when she used Scottish terms of abuse in that English accent of hers.)”
“I'm a tube? Who got done for speeding? Who got lifted for bloody assault?”
“But 'Tube' is used as shorthand for the whole network, not least by London Underground itself, [...] It tends to be older people who hold on to the distinction. A friend of mine was visiting his mother who lives about 500 yards from Parsons Green station on the District, which is a cut-and-cover line [not a tube line]. At the end of the evening she said, "How are you getting back?" He said, "Oh, on the Tube", and she looked at him absolutely blankly. "What Tube?" she said, "There is no Tube here."”
“Still, it’s not just the decline of civilisation that worries me, nor the (related) effect on Tube manners (Candy Crushers are rarely very chivalrous).”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
See all B2 English words →

See also

Learn this word in context

See tube used in real conversations inside our free language course.

Start Free Course

Know this word better than we do? Language is a living thing — help us keep it growing. Collaborate with Babel Free