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
Eugenia Yosef, CNN, 12 Jan. 2025
Or Central and South America, uniting in hostility to the United States, helping their drug gangs to surge fentanyl into the United States via drones and tunnels.
—Llewellyn King, Orlando Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2025
Daniel Rothberg, ProPublica, 8 Jan. 2025
The two men join forces to tunnel to the coastal wall of the prison.
—Scott Phillips, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tunnel 
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Noun
Related article Israeli military says hostage found dead in Gaza tunnel, ‘grave concerns’ for second captive
Negotiations have appeared deadlocked for months, despite the efforts of the outgoing US President Joe Biden.
—Eugenia Yosef, CNN, 12 Jan. 2025
Or Central and South America, uniting in hostility to the United States, helping their drug gangs to surge fentanyl into the United States via drones and tunnels.
—Llewellyn King, Orlando Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2025
Verb
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
The two men join forces to tunnel to the coastal wall of the prison.
—Scott Phillips, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
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 17 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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