tunnel
verb/ˈtʌnl/
/ˈtʌnl/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they tunnel | /ˈtʌnl/ /ˈtʌnl/ |
| he / she / it tunnels | /ˈtʌnlz/ /ˈtʌnlz/ |
| past simple tunnelled | /ˈtʌnld/ /ˈtʌnld/ |
| past participle tunnelled | /ˈtʌnld/ /ˈtʌnld/ |
| (North American English also) past simple tunneled | /ˈtʌnld/ /ˈtʌnld/ |
| (North American English also) past participle tunneled | /ˈtʌnld/ /ˈtʌnld/ |
| -ing form tunnelling | /ˈtʌnəlɪŋ/ /ˈtʌnəlɪŋ/ |
| (North American English also) -ing form tunneling | /ˈtʌnəlɪŋ/ /ˈtʌnəlɪŋ/ |
- to dig a tunnel under or through the ground
- + adv./prep. The engineers had to tunnel through solid rock.
- tunnel your way + adv./prep. The rescuers tunnelled their way in to the trapped miners.
Word Originlate Middle English (in the senses ‘tunnel-shaped net’ and ‘flue of a chimney’): from Old French tonel, diminutive of tonne ‘cask’. The current noun senses date from the mid 18th cent.
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tunnel