test-tube

1 of 2

adjective

ˈtes(t)-ˌt(y)üb 

1

: in vitro

test-tube experiments

2

: produced by in vitro fertilization

test-tube babies

test tube

2 of 2

noun

: a plain or lipped tube usually of thin glass closed at one end and used especially in chemistry and biology

Examples of test-tube in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In a departure from her usual beat, Ms. Hosler wrote a moving first person account in 1985 for the old Sunday Sun Magazine about her experiences as one of the first to go through Hopkins’s test-tube baby program which in her case was not successful. —Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2024

National Geographic harnesses some of that tendency in this kit that contains instructions and equipment for 15 different gross experiments with themes like boiling boogers, farting slime, bursting blood cells, eyeballs, and test-tube vomit. —Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 22 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1866, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1846, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

test tube

noun

: a tube of thin glass closed at one end and used especially in chemistry and biology

Medical Definition

test-tube

1 of 2 adjective

1

: in vitro

test-tube experiments

2

: produced by in vitro fertilization

test-tube babies

test tube

2 of 2 noun

: a plain or lipped tube usually of thin glass closed at one end and used especially in chemistry and biology