pipe

1 of 2

noun

ˈpīp 

plural pipes

1

a

: a tubular wind instrument

specifically : a small fipple flute held in and played by the left hand

b

: one of the tubes of a pipe organ:

(1)

: flue pipe

(2)

: reed pipe

c

: bagpipe

—usually used in plural

d(1)

pipes : vocal cords, voice

… the actress famously showed off her pipes with the emotional ballad "There Are Worse Things I Could Do."

—Sophie Dodd

a singer with a great set of pipes

(2)

: piping sense 1

2

a

: a long tube or hollow body for conducting a liquid, gas, or finely divided solid or for structural purposes

b

: a means of transmission (as of television signals or computer data)

a broadband fiber-optic pipe

3

a

: a tubular or cylindrical object, part, or passage

b

: a roughly cylindrical and vertical geologic formation

c

: the eruptive channel opening into the crater of a volcano

4

a

: a large cask of varying capacity used especially for wine and oil

b

: any of various units of liquid capacity based on the size of a pipe

especially : a unit equal to two hogsheads

5

: a device for smoking usually consisting of a tube having a bowl at one end and a mouthpiece at the other

6

: snap sense 2c, cinch

pipeful

ˈpīp-ˌfu̇l 

noun

pipeless

ˈpīp-ləs 

adjective

pipelike

ˈpīp-ˌlīk 

adjective

pipe

2 of 2

verb

piped; piping

intransitive verb

1

a

: to play on a pipe

b

: to convey orders by signals on a boatswain's pipe

2

a

: to speak in a high or shrill voice

b

: to emit a shrill sound

transitive verb

1

a

: to play (a tune) on a pipe

b

: to utter in the shrill tone of a pipe

2

a

: to lead or cause to go with pipe music

b(1)

: to call or direct by the boatswain's pipe

(2)

: to receive aboard or attend the departure of by sounding a boatswain's pipe

3

: to trim with piping

4

: to place (batter, frosting, etc.) on a surface by pressing or squeezing through a bag or tube fitted with a special nozzle

Pipe frosting over each frozen ice cream mound to cover.

—Emily Young

also : to create (a decoration or pattern) by this method

Pipe a rosette of whipped cream on top.

—Elizabeth Craig

5

: to furnish or equip with pipes

6

: to convey by or as if by pipes

especially : to transmit by wire or coaxial cable

7

: notice

Synonyms

Noun

• channel
• conduit
• duct
• leader
• line
• penstock
• trough
• tube

Verb

• canalize
• channel
• channelize
• conduct
• direct
• funnel
• siphon
• syphon

Examples of pipe in a Sentence

Noun

He has the pipes to sing on Broadway.

a singer with a fine set of pipes

Verb

The pipers piped while the drummers drummed.

The musician piped a tune.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On this occasion, the song was stripped to its heartbroken bones, Tommy O’Dell’s impressive pipes driving it home. —Lars Brandle, Billboard, 29 Apr. 2024

Walsh moved closer and heard a rushing noise in the pipe — the sound of water running hard and fast. —Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024

The man stomped on some of the pipes and ripped others out of the instrument. —Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2024

Police said Gibert was also seen on video surveillance placing the pipe allegedly used to kill Dos Passos — which was later retrieved by law enforcement — in a trash bin. —Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2024

His fight to raise awareness for diabetes and colorectal cancer prevention as well as his advocacy for replacing lead pipes in Newark epitomized the very definition of public service. —Katie Sobko, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024

The game sees players trying to determine who killed Mr. Boddy, with suspects ranging from Colonel Mustard to Miss Scarlett and weapons ranging from a lead pipe to a rope. —Joe Otterson, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024

The pipe was filled with a powder-like substance, preliminarily identified as smokeless gunpowder, according to the document. —Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2024

Pneumatic pipes sprouted from the top of it like mechanical antennae. —Rachel Lance, WIRED, 16 Apr. 2024

Verb

But now, pop fans think Taylor Swift is serving up her own heaping helping of piping hot conflict with her old rival, Kim Kardashian. —Stephen Daw, Billboard, 19 Apr. 2024

The camera piped a live feed to an FBI office for three years. —Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024

The court essentially produced the show, piped through a box outside the courthouse to whichever stations wanted the feed. —Elahe Izadi, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024

The company unveiled an all-new Total Solar Eclipse Doughnut, which was an Original Glazed Doughnut dipped in black chocolate icing, adorned with silver sprinkles, piped with a buttercream made with Oreo pieces, and featured a whole Oreo in the center. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024

The morning worship is piped in through loudspeakers. —Sandhya Dirks, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024

This is different from the current capability development process that is largely stove piped across multiple commands each with different mission objectives not necessarily informed by the greater Air Force enterprise requirements. —Dave Deptula, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024

Some of these noises are being piped directly into our ears (thank you, ear pods!), but others are a product of noise pollution. —Amy Paturel, WIRED, 24 Mar. 2024

The employee then piped some flowers made of frosting to top off the treat. —Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English pīpa (akin to Old High German pfīfa pipe), from Vulgar Latin *pipa pipe, from Latin pipare to peep, of imitative origin

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing pipe

• briar pipe
• corncob pipe
• Dutchman's-pipe
• flue pipe
• half-pipe
• Indian pipe
• lead-pipe
• light pipe
• organ pipe cactus
• peace pipe
• pipe bomb
• pipe clay
• pipe cleaner
• pipe down
• pipe dream
• pipe fitter
• pipe fitting
• pipe organ
• pipe stop
• pipe up
• pipe wrench
• pitch pipe
• put/stick that in your pipe and smoke it
• reed pipe
• soil pipe
• tuning pipe
• waste pipe
• water pipe

Kids Definition

pipe

1 of 2 noun

ˈpīp 

1

a

: a musical instrument consisting of a tube of reed, wood, or metal that is played by blowing

b

: one of the tubes of a pipe organ

c

: bagpipe

—usually used in plural

d

: the whistle, call, or note especially of a bird or an insect

2

: a long tube or hollow body for carrying a substance (as water, steam, or gas)

3

: a tube with a small bowl at one end used for smoking tobacco

4

: a large barrel used especially to hold oil or wine

pipe

2 of 2 verb

piped; piping

1

a

: to play on a pipe

b

: to receive on board or signal the departure of by the sounding of a boatswain's pipe

2

: to speak, call, or play with a high shrill tone

3

: to furnish or trim with piping

4

: to carry by or as if by pipes

pipe water

piper noun