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
Patrick Wilson, Charlotte Observer, 24 Jan. 2025
When Leverkusen completed their unbeaten league season, his brothers and friends were in the players’ tunnel with him.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Zak Doffman, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
In Maryland, where Boring and federal officials completed a draft environmental review in 2019 for a high-speed link between Baltimore and Washington, the company never started tunneling.
—Daniel Rothberg, ProPublica, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for tunnel 
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Noun
The idea of two little babies being in a terror tunnel for over a year is kind of heartbreaking.
—Patrick Wilson, Charlotte Observer, 24 Jan. 2025
When Leverkusen completed their unbeaten league season, his brothers and friends were in the players’ tunnel with him.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
This is very different to an IP block, where traffic is restricted by networks and which can be fixed by a VPN masking a user’s location, tunneling through a location outside the restricted area.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
In Maryland, where Boring and federal officials completed a draft environmental review in 2019 for a high-speed link between Baltimore and Washington, the company never started tunneling.
—Daniel Rothberg, ProPublica, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for tunnel
Dictionary Entries Near tunnel
Cite this Entry
“Tunnel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tunnel. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
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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