Meaning of "tunnel" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD TUNNEL

From Old French tonel cask, from tonne tun, from Medieval Latin tonna barrel, of Celtic origin.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF TUNNEL

tunnel  [ˈtʌnəl]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF TUNNEL

Tunnel is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb tunnel in English.

WHAT DOES TUNNEL MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground or underwater passageway, enclosed except for entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. The central portions of a rapid transit network are usually in tunnel. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers. Utility tunnels are used for routing steam, chilled water, electrical power or telecommunication cables, as well as connecting buildings for convenient passage of people and equipment. Secret tunnels are built for military purposes, or by civilians for smuggling of weapons, contraband, or people. Special tunnels, such as wildlife crossings, are built to allow wildlife to cross human-made barriers safely.

Definition of tunnel in the English dictionary

The first definition of tunnel in the dictionary is an underground passageway, esp one for trains or cars that passes under a mountain, river, or a congested urban area. Other definition of tunnel is any passage or channel through or under something. Tunnel is also the flue of a chimney.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO TUNNEL

PRESENT

Present

I tunnel

you tunnel

he/she/it tunnels

we tunnel

you tunnel

they tunnel

Present continuous

I am tunnelling

you are tunnelling

he/she/it is tunnelling

we are tunnelling

you are tunnelling

they are tunnelling

Present perfect

I have tunnelled

you have tunnelled

he/she/it has tunnelled

we have tunnelled

you have tunnelled

they have tunnelled

Present perfect continuous

I have been tunnelling

you have been tunnelling

he/she/it has been tunnelling

we have been tunnelling

you have been tunnelling

they have been tunnelling

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I tunnelled

you tunnelled

he/she/it tunnelled

we tunnelled

you tunnelled

they tunnelled

Past continuous

I was tunnelling

you were tunnelling

he/she/it was tunnelling

we were tunnelling

you were tunnelling

they were tunnelling

Past perfect

I had tunnelled

you had tunnelled

he/she/it had tunnelled

we had tunnelled

you had tunnelled

they had tunnelled

Past perfect continuous

I had been tunnelling

you had been tunnelling

he/she/it had been tunnelling

we had been tunnelling

you had been tunnelling

they had been tunnelling

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will tunnel

you will tunnel

he/she/it will tunnel

we will tunnel

you will tunnel

they will tunnel

Future continuous

I will be tunnelling

you will be tunnelling

he/she/it will be tunnelling

we will be tunnelling

you will be tunnelling

they will be tunnelling

Future perfect

I will have tunnelled

you will have tunnelled

he/she/it will have tunnelled

we will have tunnelled

you will have tunnelled

they will have tunnelled

Future perfect continuous

I will have been tunnelling

you will have been tunnelling

he/she/it will have been tunnelling

we will have been tunnelling

you will have been tunnelling

they will have been tunnelling

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would tunnel

you would tunnel

he/she/it would tunnel

we would tunnel

you would tunnel

they would tunnel

Conditional continuous

I would be tunnelling

you would be tunnelling

he/she/it would be tunnelling

we would be tunnelling

you would be tunnelling

they would be tunnelling

Conditional perfect

I would have tunnel

you would have tunnel

he/she/it would have tunnel

we would have tunnel

you would have tunnel

they would have tunnel

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been tunnelling

you would have been tunnelling

he/she/it would have been tunnelling

we would have been tunnelling

you would have been tunnelling

they would have been tunnelling

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you tunnel
we let´s tunnel
you tunnel

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to tunnel

Past participle

tunnelled

Present Participle

tunnelling

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «TUNNEL»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «tunnel» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of tunnel

bore · burrow · channel · dig · drill · excavate · hole · mine · passage · passageway · shaft · subway · underpass

TRANSLATION OF TUNNEL

Find out the translation of tunnel to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of tunnel from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «tunnel» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 隧道
• Translator English - Spanish: túnel
• English: tunnel
• Translator English - Hindi: सुरंग
• Translator English - Arabic: نَفَق
• Translator English - Russian: туннель
• Translator English - Portuguese: túnel
• Translator English - Bengali: সুড়ঙ্গ
• Translator English - French: tunnel
• Translator English - Malay: Terowong
• Translator English - German: Tunnel
• Translator English - Japanese: トンネル
• Translator English - Korean: 터널
• Translator English - Javanese: Trowongan
• Translator English - Vietnamese: đường hầm
• Translator English - Tamil: சுரங்கப்பாதை
• Translator English - Marathi: सुरंग
• Translator English - Turkish: tünel
• Translator English - Italian: tunnel
• Translator English - Polish: tunel
• Translator English - Ukrainian: тунель
• Translator English - Romanian: tunel
• Translator English - Greek: σήραγγα
• Translator English - Afrikaans: tonnel
• Translator English - Swedish: tunnel
• Translator English - Norwegian: tunnel

10 QUOTES WITH «TUNNEL»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word tunnel.

1

Evelyn Ashford

I was single-minded and I had tunnel vision. Now it's time for a change.

2

Charles Barkley

Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is a train.

3

Bob Beauprez

After several trillion dollars of stimulation by the Obama Administration and the Fed, one might think the economy would be chugging along at a pretty good clip. But, it just isn't so, and the light at the end of the tunnel is pretty dim. Just ask a small business owner.

4

Emily Blunt

There is absolutely, 100 percent, a light at the end of the tunnel for anyone who stutters.

5

Corrie Ten Boom

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.

6

Ian Botham

Retiring for good wasn't difficult. I knew at the time it was right. I was no longer capable of achieving the standards I'd set myself and there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

7

Drew Busby

When you ran out the tunnel at the old Easter Road for a derby game, you'd get a spittal right on the back of your head. They were spitting on you as you ran out, which actually helped get you going. It was some place.

8

Jamais Cascio

Future forecasting is all about testing strategies - it's like a wind tunnel.

9

Nick Cassavetes

When your child is sick, you have tunnel vision.

10

Barry Commoner

If you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you are looking the wrong way.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TUNNEL»

Discover the use of tunnel in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to tunnel and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Survival Plan for the ...

Argues that the human species is headed for extinction in the near future, and presents three principal elements the author believes are needed to put the Earth on the road to recovery, including the availability of reliable sources of ...

Paul Hellyer, 2010

Immersed Tunnel Techniques 2

This volume presents the proceedings of an international conference organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers together with the Institution of Engineering in Ireland, it draws together the practical experiences gained by practising ...

C. R. Ford, 1997

Engineering Geology of the Channel Tunnel

This book provides a comprehensive insight into the events which culminated in the first dry link between Britain and France. It describes the relationship between the site investigation, data interpretation and construction of the works.

Colin S. Harris, 1996

The Channel Tunnel Story

This book tells the story of the project, based on the coverage in Construction News and with commentary taken from recent interviews with key project sources.

G Anderson, B. Roskrow, 2003

Mandie and the Secret Tunnel

In 1900, Mandie is searching her dead uncle's mansion for a missing will when she finds a secret tunnel and strangers who claim to be her relatives.

Lois Gladys Leppard, 1983

Introduction to Tunnel Construction

It is a complex process, which requires a firm understanding of the ground conditions as well as structural issues. This book covers the whole range of areas that you need to know in order to embark upon a career in tunnelling.

David Chapman, Nicole Metje, Alfred Stärk, 2010

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Aimed at hand surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, and physical therapists. This book explains the technical modalities of surgical treatment and reviews alternatives, including nonsurgical procedures.

Riccardo Luchetti, Peter Amadio, 2008

Engineering the Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel may be the greatest engineering project in Europe this century. This book describes the tremendous engineering achievement of the construction of the tunnel.

Colin Kirkland, 1995

Tunnel People

Acclaimed war photographer Voeten gained unprecedented access to this netherworld, where he lived for five months, meeting Vietnam veterans, macro-biotic hippies, crack addicts, Cuban refugees and runaways. 13 years later, Voeten tracks ...

Teun Voeten, 2010

The Handbook of Tunnel Fire Safety

Like New, No Highlights,No Markup,all pages are intact.

Richard Carvel, Alan Beard, 2005

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TUNNEL»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term tunnel is used in the context of the following news items.

Watch: Over 200 migrants breach Euro Tunnel fences

Breaking down several levels of security fencing, the crowd of more than 200 migrants seemed to take security personnel by surprise, approaching the tunnel ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Aug 15»

2000 migrants try to storm Channel Tunnel in France to reach UK

(CNN) About 2,000 migrants tried to enter the Channel Tunnel through the French terminal near Calais Monday night in an attempt to reach the United Kingdom, ... «CNN, Jul 15»

Eurotunnel: normal Channel tunnel services resume after 'migrant …

Lorries and cars queue on A16 motorway close to the Channel tunnel terminal access in Calais, northern France. Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters. «The Guardian, Jul 15»

The Corruption at the End of El Chapo's Tunnel

Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman was just looking to bust out of prison. But his mile-long escape tunnel -- complete with a motorcycle on rails -- provides a ... «Bloomberg View, Jul 15»

Tunnel vision: A look inside El Chapo's underground hideaways

Throughout his reign at the helm of one of Mexico's most ruthless cartels, tunnels have been a mainstay of how the notorious drug kingpin hid out from ... «CNN, Jul 15»

Channel tunnel delays after points glitch and besieging of terminal …

The problem was compounded when a points failure in the tunnel delayed ... huge numbers of migrants in and around the tunnel area on Friday night and called ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

Calais crisis: Channel Tunnel entrance blocked with burning barricade

Striking French workers blocked the Channel Tunnel with a burning barricade, bringing all traffic from Calais to a standstill for the second time in just over a week ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Jun 15»

Protests close channel tunnel between England and France

London (CNN) The tunnel that runs under the English Channel between England and France was closed Tuesday afternoon, cutting off a key link between the ... «CNN, Jun 15»

31 Hurt After 2 Buses Collide In Lincoln Tunnel

It happened around 9:45 a.m. inside the center tube of the tunnel. There were 60 people aboard NJ TRANSIT bus 166T when it hit the private bus carrying the ... «CBS Local, Jun 15»

Canada's tunnel mystery solved -- well, sort of

(CNN) A mysterious tunnel that Canadian authorities discovered weeks ago is still a mystery, though police said Monday the case is closed and there was ... «CNN, Mar 15»