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

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, 5 Dec. 2024

Struggling to create the first test-tube baby are nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie), scientist Robert Edwards (James Norton) and surgeon Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy). —The Week Uk, theweek, 21 Nov. 2024

Noun

Lilian had not taken such an inventory with Eileen, whose face had begun to fade from her memory, but Eileen had never asked her to listen to her own blood filling the test tubes. —Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025

This science travel lab, available at Walmart, includes the lab case, goggles, one beaker, one flask, three test tubes, a removable ruler, a working scale, an eye dropper, a funnel, a double-sided measuring spoon, six experiment cards and three sticker sheets. —Nora Colomer, Fox News, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1866, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1846, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for test-tube

• boob
• cube
• lube
• rube
• tube
• hypercube
• nanotube
• phototube

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