1
a
: a covered passageway
specifically
: a horizontal passageway through or under an obstruction
b
: a subterranean gallery (as in a mine)
c
: burrow
tunneled or tunnelled; tunneling or tunnelling
ˈtən-liŋ 
ˈtə-nᵊl-iŋ
1
: to make or use a tunnel
2
physics
: to pass through a potential barrier
electrons tunneling through an insulator between semiconductors
: to make a tunnel or similar opening through or under
also
: to make (one's way) by or as if by making a tunnel
Examples of tunnel in a Sentence
Noun
The train goes through a tunnel in the mountain.
The moles dug tunnels in the yard.
Verb
Workers are tunneling through the hill.
Insects had tunneled into the tree.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Consider hiking or biking along the Great Allegheny Passage, which provides a scenic, outdoorsy way to explore the city's many bridges and tunnels along a 150-mile trail.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2024
Many Hamas fighters have been killed, but thousands remain in the fight, their senior leaders believed to be hidden — along with many of the remaining hostages — in tunnels deep below ground.
—Karen Deyoung, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
They were driven away and led on foot through a tunnel for hours.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
Those fish died of gas bubble disease, which happens when the pressure changes while passing through a tunnel at the base of a dam.
—Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 5 Apr. 2024
As well as the six workers from Zhonghe quarry, those rescued include 11 tourists — including three foreign nationals — at Swallow Grotto at the Taroko Gorge National Park and 75 people stranded in various tunnels in Hualien County, according to Hualien Fire Bureau and Central News Agency.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in particular was owned and operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority, a separate agency under the Maryland Department of Transportation responsible for operating Maryland’s toll bridges, tunnels, and highways.
—The Editors, National Review, 3 Apr. 2024
Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies Members of an NBC News team in Rafah saw hundreds of vehicles on the road, as well as some in a parking area and more at a tunnel crossing in Ismailia, roughly three hours and 125 miles from the border crossing.
—Charlene Gubash, NBC News, 30 Mar. 2024
Julie Watson, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024
Ashikaga Flower Park Ashikaga Flower Park is the only location in Japan with a Kibana wisteria tunnel visitors can walk underneath.
—Talia Avakian, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2024
Workers at the Encore site believed they weren’t allowed to stop tunneling for any reason, according to Merideth, two separate former employees who worked at the Encore jobsite, and notes from an OSHA investigator’s employee interviews.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024
But the exponential difficulty of reaching those locations would always rise even faster, making tunneling an unlikely proposition.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
Some beetles feed just underneath bark while others tunnel more deeply into heartwood.
—Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 11 Jan. 2024
Saw-Wai Hla With Hla et al.'s method, X-rays hit the sample and excite the core electrons, which then tunnel to the detector tip.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 31 May 2023
With enough disorder, Anderson concluded, a particle would never tunnel far.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
After 13 years or 17 years, depending on their brood, the cicadas will tunnel to the surface to reach maturity and engage in a monthlong, noisy search for a mate.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 20 Jan. 2024
Noun
Climate & Environment For Subscribers Newsom wants to build a $16-billion water tunnel.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Consider hiking or biking along the Great Allegheny Passage, which provides a scenic, outdoorsy way to explore the city's many bridges and tunnels along a 150-mile trail.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2024
Many Hamas fighters have been killed, but thousands remain in the fight, their senior leaders believed to be hidden — along with many of the remaining hostages — in tunnels deep below ground.
—Karen Deyoung, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
They were driven away and led on foot through a tunnel for hours.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
Those fish died of gas bubble disease, which happens when the pressure changes while passing through a tunnel at the base of a dam.
—Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 5 Apr. 2024
As well as the six workers from Zhonghe quarry, those rescued include 11 tourists — including three foreign nationals — at Swallow Grotto at the Taroko Gorge National Park and 75 people stranded in various tunnels in Hualien County, according to Hualien Fire Bureau and Central News Agency.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in particular was owned and operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority, a separate agency under the Maryland Department of Transportation responsible for operating Maryland’s toll bridges, tunnels, and highways.
—The Editors, National Review, 3 Apr. 2024
Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies Members of an NBC News team in Rafah saw hundreds of vehicles on the road, as well as some in a parking area and more at a tunnel crossing in Ismailia, roughly three hours and 125 miles from the border crossing.
—Charlene Gubash, NBC News, 30 Mar. 2024
Verb
Going to the office has been no small feat for Jon Slaughter’s marketing team at Sugar Bowl, requiring the employees to dig down several feet and then tunnel through to the front door after a powerful blizzard dumped more than 10 feet (3 meters) of snow on the Northern California ski resort.
—Julie Watson, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024
Ashikaga Flower Park Ashikaga Flower Park is the only location in Japan with a Kibana wisteria tunnel visitors can walk underneath.
—Talia Avakian, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2024
Workers at the Encore site believed they weren’t allowed to stop tunneling for any reason, according to Merideth, two separate former employees who worked at the Encore jobsite, and notes from an OSHA investigator’s employee interviews.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024
But the exponential difficulty of reaching those locations would always rise even faster, making tunneling an unlikely proposition.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
Some beetles feed just underneath bark while others tunnel more deeply into heartwood.
—Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 11 Jan. 2024
Saw-Wai Hla With Hla et al.'s method, X-rays hit the sample and excite the core electrons, which then tunnel to the detector tip.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 31 May 2023
With enough disorder, Anderson concluded, a particle would never tunnel far.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
After 13 years or 17 years, depending on their brood, the cicadas will tunnel to the surface to reach maturity and engage in a monthlong, noisy search for a mate.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 20 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tunnel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tunnel
Cite this Entry
“Tunnel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tunnel. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tunnel
2 of 2 verb
tunneled or tunnelled; tunneling or tunnelling
ˈtən-liŋ,
-ᵊl-iŋ
: to make a tunnel
Medical Definition
tunnel
noun
tun·nel
ˈtən-ᵊl
: a bodily channel see carpal tunnel
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